CNAD-#119- China's ???????????????????????Updates about ????+(??????????????) & ??

Everyday Briefing: 2024-07-19

????China Internal??

??China has established a national working group to develop healthcare security standards to enhance convenience for medical treatment. The group, led by the National Healthcare Security Administration and local authorities, will create a standards system compatible with healthcare security reform. This will eventually lead to the formation of a list of national healthcare security standards. The group will provide a technical platform for standardizing healthcare security management services, treatments, pharmaceutical procurement, and fund supervision. Since 2018, the National Healthcare Security Administration has released 18 information coding standards, including those for medical consumables, services, and medicines covered by medical insurance. The next steps will focus on cross-departmental sharing and mutual recognition of standardized data.

??Beijing plans to build an international pharmaceutical innovation park in a southern suburb to attract global scientists in medicine and health. The park, located in Beijing E-Town, will feature a cluster of international corporate headquarters and focus on fostering world-class specialized hospitals and medicine-related industries. The park will target frontier fields of health such as quantitative synthetic biology, new-generation high-throughput sequencing technology, and therapeutic gene editing technology. The park will also promote the integration of biotechnology and information technology, boosting new medicine R&D through AI computing power.

??Science and Technology??

??China's CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., Ltd. has introduced a new type of railway bogie for high-speed trains running at 400 kilometers per hour. The built-in bogie is 20% lighter than standard externally mounted bogies and can reduce operational energy consumption by 15%, wheel-rail wear by 30%, and maintenance costs by 15% throughout their life cycle. The bogie is essential for supporting the vehicle's mass, guiding it along the track, and providing cushioning against shocks. With a designed speed of 400 kilometers per hour, the new bogies can operate at maximum speeds of 600 kilometers per hour.

???Chinese scientists have discovered a new high-temperature superconductor with an 86% superconducting volume fraction, published in the international academic journal Nature. The discovery, led by professor Zhao Jun at Fudan University's Department of Physics, challenges the belief that superconductivity only exists at extremely low temperatures. The team synthesized high-quality, trilayer nickelate single crystal samples with a superconducting volume fraction close to that of cuprate high-temperature superconductors, providing strong proof of the bulk superconducting properties of nickelates. The team successfully synthesized these samples using a high-pressure optical floating zone technique.

???China launched a new Earth observation satellite, Gaofen-11 05, from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi Province. Launched using a Long March-4B carrier rocket, the satellite will be used in various fields like land surveys, urban planning, road network design, crop yield estimation, and disaster relief.

??Business China??

????Zimbabwe is set to host its inaugural Chinese investment expo later this year to showcase Chinese investments in various sectors and their contribution to the country's economy. The event will be held at the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show, which is scheduled for August 26-31 in Harare. The expo will serve as a follow-up platform to amplify Chinese investments into Zimbabwe over the years. The Zimbabwean government will coordinate with the Chinese embassy and the Zimbabwe Agricultural Society (ZAS) to convene the event, which will cover not just agriculture but a cross-section of all Chinese investments in Zimbabwe. Existing and prospective government-to-government and private-sector investments will be showcased during the expo.

??China's province of Jiangsu's foreign trade value reached a new high of 2.68 trillion yuan (about 376 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of this year, representing a year-on-year growth of 8.5%, accounting for 12.7% of the country's total. Exports rose by 8.8% to 1.72 trillion yuan, while imports increased by 9.3% to 959.74 billion yuan. Private enterprises in Jiangsu saw a 14.7 percent year-on-year growth in foreign trade.

??Chinese scientists have developed a cost-effective and environmentally friendly catalyst for propylene production, demonstrating exceptional propylene selectivity and stability. The catalyst can reduce costs by 30 to 50 percent and ensure non-toxic and low-energy consumption during preparation and use. Propylene is a widely produced chemical, used in plastics, rubber, fibers, and pharmaceuticals. In 2023, China's propylene production exceeded 60 million tonnes, accounting for one-third of the global output. Traditional propane dehydrogenation (PDH) catalysts rely heavily on expensive platinum or toxic chromium oxide, making the process costly and environmentally detrimental. The team proposed a scientific hypothesis that uses inexpensive and environmentally friendly oxides to interact electronically with metals, enhancing the catalytic process.

??Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport will issue an additional 20,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs) license plates to address the vehicle needs of households without a car. Starting from Sunday, applicants can check their ranking in the city's license plate lottery system. Verified households will receive a license plate confirmation notice starting July 26. This year, the total quota for passenger car license plates is set at 100,000, with 20,000 allocated for fueled vehicles and 80,000 for NEVs.

???China has invested 2.6 trillion yuan (about 364.58 billion U.S. dollars) in over 66,000 urban infrastructure renovation projects, according to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. The projects involve maintenance, renovation, demolition, and improvement of public resources to better meet people's expectations and adapt to economic and social development. Over 2,600 former factories and commercial blocks have been renovated, and nearly 15,000 public facilities have been constructed or renovated. China plans to renovate 54,000 old urban residential communities this year, with the ministry calling for improved management models and pilot projects.

??China's e-commerce sector experienced strong growth in the first half of 2024, with online retail sales increasing by 9.8% YoY to 7.1 trillion yuan. The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) identified digital products, services consumption, and trade-in programs as the main drivers of consumption growth. AI learning machines and smart wearable devices saw significant growth, while online travel and catering services saw growth. E-commerce platforms also facilitated trade-in services for over 400,000 products and recycling services, resulting in increased sales of refrigerators, washing machines, mobile phones, and TVs. The sector's international cooperation expanded, with China signing e-commerce cooperation memorandums with Serbia, Bahrain, and Tajikistan, bringing the total number of Silk Road e-commerce partner countries to 33.

???China-Foreign Affairs??

????Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni has expressed his gratitude to China for its long-term support and assistance to Cambodia, stating that the two countries will deepen their traditional friendship through cooperation in various fields. Sihamoni emphasized the importance of China's development achievements and the one-China policy, while Wang Wenbin, China's new ambassador to Cambodia, emphasized the need for a high-quality, high-level, and high-standard community with a shared future. The ambassador will work with Cambodians to strengthen the China-Cambodia friendship and work towards consolidating and deepening it.

??The Global Security Initiative, an international public good, has been released with a report on its implementation progress. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi emphasized the importance of the initiative in addressing security challenges and maintaining global stability in a world of chaos. The report, based on the China Institute of International Studies, reveals that the initiative has received support from over 100 countries and international organizations. It has been incorporated into over 90 bilateral and multilateral documents on exchanges and cooperation between China and other countries. The report recommends that all parties engage in dialogue and exchanges on global security concerns to continually enrich the concept and connotation of the Global Security Initiative. It also calls for expansion of bilateral and multilateral security cooperation, innovation of cooperation concepts and methods, and commitment to peace talks on international and regional hotspot issues.

????Egypt's experts have emphasized China's commitment to world peace and development, including the Middle East issue, at a seminar on "China and Middle East Peace" held by the Global Forum for Future Studies (GFFS). The experts emphasized that China's initiatives aim to achieve common development and peace among countries worldwide. They also highlighted China's new development philosophy, which could help regional countries and people deal with crises. Noha Hader, senior official for East Asian affairs at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign, Emigration and Expatriates' Affairs, said that China has always been committed to achieving development in the Middle East and improving people's well-being, which has laid a solid foundation for regional peace and stability. China's Ambassador to Egypt, Liao Liqiang, reiterated China's position on the Middle East issue, calling for an immediate ceasefire to prevent conflict expansion and effective implementation of the "two-state solution" for a comprehensive, just, and lasting settlement of the Palestinian issue.

????Chinese defense spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang has defended China's military development as a means to protect national sovereignty, security, and development interests, as well as international and regional peace and stability. He criticized the Defense of Japan 2024 white paper, which includes content related to tensions in the Taiwan Strait and the China-Russia joint maritime patrol. Zhang argued that the white paper is misleading and provides pretexts for China's military buildup. He defended China's maritime and air activities in accordance with international law and domestic laws. He emphasized that separatist activities and external support from external forces pose the greatest threats to peace in the Taiwan Strait. He urged Japan to learn from history, act with prudence on military security issues, and earn the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community.

??Cultural??Insights ??

??The Chinese mainland summer box office has surpassed 5.01 billion yuan, according to Maoyan data. The crime mystery "A Place Called Silence" has grossed nearly 1 billion yuan, accounting for 19.8% of the seasonal box office. The comedy "Successor," starring Shen Teng and Ma Li, has grossed over 928 million yuan, accounting for 18.5% of the total. The film's preview screenings on July 13 and 14 propelled the Chinese mainland's daily box office revenues above 300 million yuan, marking the first time since May 3 this year that the market's daily box office has reached this milestone. Maoyan and Beacon have revised their total box office forecasts for "Successor" to around 3.7 billion yuan. The drama "Moments We Shared" secures the third spot in the seasonal rankings with approximately 500 million yuan in box office earnings.

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