China: Daily Scan, May 18, 2022

China’s Hubei launches first freight train via China-Laos Railway: Xinhuanet
May 17, 2022

A freight train departed Tuesday morning from Wuhan, the capital of central China’s Hubei Province, to Laos’ Luang Prabang, marking the launch of Hubei’s first international freight train that runs via the China-Laos Railway. Click here to read…

China introduces 358 km of new high-speed rail in first four months: Xinhuanet
May 17, 2022

China put 581 km of new railway lines into service in the first four months of the year, including 358 km of high-speed railway, data from China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. showed. Click here to read…

SAIC-GM-Wuling posts record new energy vehicle sales: Xinhuanet
May 17, 2022

SAIC-GM-Wuling (SGMW), based in Liuzhou of south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, reported record new energy vehicle sales. By the end of April, the company had sold more than 700,000 units of Hongguang MINI EV, a new energy vehicle model. Click here to read…

China’s AC313A large civil helicopter makes maiden flight: Xinhuanet
May 17, 2022

China’s independently-developed AC313A large utility civil helicopter successfully conducted its maiden flight on Tuesday, announced the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the country’s leading aircraft maker. Click here to read…

China launches quantum-secured, “unhackable” smartphone: Xinhuanet
May 17, 2022

A Chinese telecom service provider rolled off a smartphone using quantum tech that can ensure the user chat on the device is almost “unhackable.” Launched by China Telecom, Tianyi No.1 2022 is a smartphone mounted with a quantum-secured encryption module and purpose-built SIM card that can encrypt and decipher voice calls on the phone using the quantum key distribution, Science Daily reported Tuesday. Click here to read…

State Council appoints, removes officials: Xinhuanet
May 17, 2022

The State Council announced the appointment and removal of several officials on Tuesday. Xu Chengguang was appointed vice minister of transport. Shi Taifeng was appointed president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), replacing Xie Fuzhan. Lin Rui was removed from the post of vice minister of public security, and Liu Wei was removed from the post of vice minister of emergency management. Click here to read…

HKSAR ExCo endorses reorganisation of gov’t structure: Xinhuanet
May 17, 2022

The Executive Council (ExCo) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Tuesday considered and endorsed a package of proposals to re-organize the structure of the HKSAR government, upon the request of the sixth-term chief executive designate. Click here to read…

Technology cuts wait times for nucleic acid testing: China Daily
May 17, 2022

A new mini-program in WeChat is relieving people from the pain of long queues at nucleic acid testing sites in Beijing’s Zhongguancun, a subdistrict renowned for its high-tech companies and also known as China’s Silicon Valley. Click here to read…

AI bolsters management of makeshift hospital operations: China Daily
May 17, 2022

Artificial intelligence company SenseTime has introduced an AI-powered system that allows for better management of the makeshift COVID-19 hospital in Shanghai’s Lingang area. The system, the result of a partnership between SenseTime and the Shanghai Lingang Economic Development Group, was developed within seven days and allows for the management of hospitals areas, beds, personnel, and recording of nucleic acid tests to be done digitally, the company said in a press release. Click here to read…

Beijing getting to grips with latest outbreak: China Daily
May 17, 2022

Nearly half of the patients in the latest COVID-19 outbreak in Beijing had been discharged from hospital as of Tuesday afternoon, a senior official said. Beijing’s two designated hospitals had accepted 1,186 COVID-19 patients as of 3 pm Tuesday since the outbreak began on April 22, and 541 of them had been discharged from hospital or released from quarantine as of Tuesday afternoon, Wang Xiao’e, an official with the Beijing Health Commission, said at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon. Click here to read…

Beijing seafood market closes temporarily due to coronavirus: Global Times
May 17, 2022

Jingshen Seafood Market, one of Beijing’s largest seafood markets, announced on Tuesday it would close temporarily from Monday due to the current complex situation with the local Omicron outbreak. The market did not say when it would reopen. Click here to read…

Talent cultivation on ‘new path with Chinese characteristics’ as nation establishes world’s largest higher education system: Global Times
May 17, 2022

As the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced on Tuesday that China has established the world’s largest higher education system with 240 million college graduates, top-ranking Tsinghua University’s vice president said the country’s higher education sector is on a new path of high-quality development with Chinese characteristics while constantly taking the initiative to cultivate high-level innovative talent. Click here to read…

Over 500 infections in one week: Small county in SW China’s Sichuan grapples with Omicron surge: Global Times
May 17, 2022

A small county in Southwest China’s Sichuan Province, home to over 1 million residents, is grappling with an Omicron surge with infections already surpassing 500 in one week. Linshui County, under Guang’an city, about 90 kilometers away from neighboring Chongqing, has recently emerged into public eyesight as worries intensified about how such a small county will cope with a highly-contagious Omicron. Click here to read…

India increases presence on Afghan issue by hosting SCO meeting, shows Asian consensus on security: Global Times
May 17, 2022

A four-day counter-terrorism meeting participated by Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members under the framework of the SCO’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) is being held in New Delhi, India, which Chinese experts viewed as a sign of efforts in Asia over regional stability and security, in sharp contrast to Europe mired in confrontation caused by NATO expansionClick here to read…

Pakistan busts fresh terrorist attack on Chinese convoy, as leaders vow joint counterterrorism efforts: Global Times
May 17, 2022

On the same day that Chinese Premier Li Keqiang emphasized their cooperation against terrorism in a phone call with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Pakistan’s counterterrorism authorities arrested a woman who tried to launch a suicide attack against a Chinese convoy. The woman is a member of the group that carried out the terrorist attack that killed three Chinese teachers outside the University of Karachi in April. Click here to read…

Huawei’s open source operating system joined by more innovative developers: People’s Daily
May 17, 2022

Operating system used to remain a challenge for many industries. For instance, financial institutions need their operating system to be extremely reliable as they have to deal with a huge user base and complicated business forms. The power industry, which sees a broad geographical coverage of its businesses and high maintenance cost, must work to lower its cost and enhance safety while guaranteeing sound information construction and high-quality system operation and maintenance. Now, the OpenEuler, an open source operating system launched by Chinese tech giant Huawei, is making the issue far less difficult. Click here to read…

Hangzhou striving to make manufacturing more intelligent: People’s Daily
May 17, 2022

Thanks to a “smart brain” system, a garment company located in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang province is able to monitor its factory’s production, real-time inventory and sales of its over 1,500 stores on the five screens it has set up at its exhibition hall. The results of its customer profile analysis are shown on the screens as well. Click here to read…

China population: Jiangsu becomes first province to subsidise maternity leave for second, third child: South China Morning Post
May 17, 2022

Jiangsu has become the first Chinese province to subsidise companies for paying insurance to female employees during their second and third period of maternity leave, a policy that could help counter discrimination against women in hiring. Last week, authorities announced that companies are eligible to be reimbursed for 50 or 80 per cent of the social insurance paid to women who have a second child or a third child, respectively. Click here to read…

Chinese cities train and hire large numbers of nucleic acid testers: Global Times
May 18, 2022

Central China’s Henan Province will train 50,000 nucleic acid testers in a year in response to the current surge in demand for personnel for nucleic acid testing, according to a recently released document. Click here to read…

HK relaxing virus curbs despite hundreds of cases: Taipei Times
May 18, 2022

Hong Kong is to proceed with relaxing COVID-19 curbs despite recording hundreds of cases a day, as the territory’s virus policy drifts further from Beijing’s “zero COVID-19” approach. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam yesterday said that the territory would roll back social distancing measures tomorrow as previously announced, including opening bars and extending the hours for restaurants to serve customers. Click here to read…

China Eastern crash probe eyes intentional action: Reuters
May 18, 2022

Investigators looking into the crash of a China Eastern Airlines (600115.SS) jet are examining whether it was due to intentional action on the flight deck, with no evidence found of a technical malfunction, two people briefed on the matter said. Click here to read…

China Vice Premier Liu soothes tech firms, supports overseas listings: Reuters
May 18, 2022

Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He made soothing comments to tech executives on Tuesday, saying the government supported the development of the sector and public listings for technology companies in further signs a crackdown on the sector is easing. Click here to read…

China faces zero-Covid lockdown brain drain with visa inquiry spike: South China Morning Post
May 18, 2022

A surge in the number of Chinese professionals looking for emigration opportunities in response to China’s strict zero-Covid measures could affect the country’s ambitions to become a science and technology superpower. Emigration consultants in China have seen a rise in enquiries in recent months, with a noticeable spike since the end of March when outbreaks of the Omicron variant emerged in Shanghai. Residents of China’s wealthiest city have spent nearly two months in lockdown, with reports of deaths and people unable to get proper medical treatment triggering waves of anger and anxiety. Click here to read…

Asian Para Games postponed to 2023 due to COVID situation in China: Reuters
May 18, 2022

The 2022 Asian Para Games that were scheduled to take place in the Chinese city of Hangzhou have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Asian Paralympic Committee (APC) and the Games’ organising committee (HAPGOC) said on Tuesday.Click here to read…

Plan looks to expand TCM globally: China Daily
May 18, 2022

Dong Fei is more than happy that appointment slots at the nascent traditional Chinese medicine department she works for at a Cambodian hospital are nearly all taken every day.
“There were over 390 visits during the first nine days of operations, exceeding the average at local outpatient clinics,” she said. A doctor from the Xiyuan Hospital at the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences in Beijing, Dong is one of 12 specialists dispatched to Cambodia as part of China’s first foreign medical aid team specializing in TCM. Click here to read…

Couple faking marriage to buy property faces punishment: China Daily
May 18, 2022

Two people in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, are facing serious civil consequences for arranging a “fake marriage” in order to buy property in the city. The man, surnamed Ding, had married four women and divorced them immediately after helping them get credentials to buy apartments in the provincial capital, according to Nanjing’s Qinhuai District People’s Court. Click here to read…

Live-fire drills to be conducted in Bohai Sea: China Military
May 18, 2022

According to a notice released by China’s Dalian Maritime Safety Administration on May 17, live-fire drills are going to be conducted in the Bohai Sea from May 18 to May 23, Beijing time. Click here to read…

China’s top political advisor stresses development of digital economy: Xinhuanet
May 18, 2022

China’s top political advisor Wang Yang on Tuesday urged continued efforts to boost the development of the digital economy. Wang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, made the remarks at a consultation session held by the CPPCC National Committee in Beijing. Click here to read…

China’s largest petrochemical refining project starts operation: Xinhuanet
May 18, 2022

China’s largest refining and chemical integration project in Lianyungang City, east China’s Jiangsu Province, was put into production on Monday. The project, undertaken by Shenghong Petrochemical with an investment of 67.7 billion yuan (about 10 billion U.S. dollars), has an annual processing capacity of 16 million tonnes of crude oil. Click here to read…

Chinese mainland reports 227 new local confirmed COVID-19 cases: Xinhuanet
May 18, 2022

The Chinese mainland on Tuesday reported 227 locally-transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases, of which 96 were in Shanghai, according to the National Health Commission’s report Wednesday. Click here to read…

Shanghai reports 96 confirmed, 759 asymptomatic local COVID-19 cases: Xinhuanet
May 18, 2022

China’s Shanghai reported 96 confirmed locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and 759 local asymptomatic cases on Tuesday, the municipal health commission said Wednesday. Click here to read…

China accelerates implementation of fiscal, tax policies to stabilize growth: Quishi
May 18, 2022

China has accelerated the implementation of a slew of fiscal and tax policies to shore up economic growth, a senior official said on Tuesday. To spur the vitality of market entities, the country has ramped up efforts to carry out new combined supporting policies through tax and fee cuts, Vice Minister of Finance Xu Hongcai told a press conference. Click here to read…

Evaluation system to level up skilled workers: Quishi
May 18, 2022

The central government has said it will fully implement a new assessment and evaluation system for skilled workers, with the aim of producing more skilled talent in a scientific and effective way and securing the group a fairer working environment by improving its sense of honor and achievement. Click here to read…

China launches key river improvement program in Yangtze River Delta: Quishi
May 18, 2022

A key river improvement program was launched in the Yangtze River Delta region on Monday, with China fast-tracking its water conservancy project construction. The program, the Wusong river improvement project, will cost approximately 83.1 billion yuan (12.24 billion U.S. dollars) and consist of two sections in Jiangsu Province and Shanghai. Click here to read…