App Regulations

The Chinese Government is set to strengthen management of software installation on mobile devices， asking domestic smartphone manufacturers to report installation information for their users beginning November.

According to a document issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in April， companies are prohibited from installing mobile software that gathers or edits people’s private information without permission. Meanwhile， smartphone firms should not use software that results in financial loss or leaks personal information.

China overtook the United States as the world’s biggest smartphone market in 2011.

Gov’t Going Social

The official website of the Chinese Government， www.gov.cn， opened accounts on two leading microblogging websites and on WeChat， a hugely popular Chinese messaging app with over 400 million users， on October 11. The two microblogging accounts are at xinhuanet.com and qq.com.

The website， run by the General Office of the State Council， or China’s cabinet， will publish important government information through the three social networking platforms， according to a statement.

The move followed a WeChat account being opened in September by the Gazette Office of the State Council. The Gazette account was created to publicize administrative laws and orders from the State Council， personnel appointments and removals， and important government rules and documents.

Cross-Straits Talks

On October 16， a spokeswoman from the Chinese mainland announced that both sides of the Taiwan Straits can arrange meetings between their leaders independently， rather than depending on other international events.“A cross-Straits leaders’ meeting is an affair between Chinese people on the both sides of the Straits. It will not necessarily be on the sidelines of an international meeting，” said Fan Liqing， a spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office， at a press conference.

Fan was responding to a question about whether Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou should attend the informal economic leaders’ meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation next year in Beijing so as to facilitate a meeting between leaders across the Straits.

Poverty Declining

Southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region is expected to reduce its population living in poverty by 45 percent compared with 2010 by the end of this year， according to sources with the region’s Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development.

The number of people living below the national poverty line of 2，300 yuan （$375） annual per-capita income in Tibet’s rural and pastoral areas should be reduced to 457，000 at the end of 2013， which is 55 percent of 2010 levels， said Qoi’nyiYarphel， an official with the office.

So far， central and regional governments have allocated 3.9 billion yuan （640 million） in poverty alleviation funds to the plateau region， with this figure covering aid for education， financing and technology for Tibetans， he said.

Tibet had the highest poverty rate in China in 2010， with 34.42 percent of its rural and pastoral population living below the country’s poverty line.

Much of Tibet’s success in boosting livelihood has come from improving agriculture.

Rescue Teams Up

The Red Cross Society of China（RCSC） on October 11 entitled 21 emergency rescue teams to operate under its name.

The teams， mainly sponsored by the government and various social bodies， are categorized into eight groups according to their specialty and rescue experiences covering healthcare， emergency search and rescue， water supply and communication.

Some of the teams have cooperated many times with the RCSC in disaster relief missions， according to the society. Beijingbased Blue Sky， for instance， greatly supported the RCSC in rescue work after the Wenchuan earthquake in southwest China’s Sichuan Province in May 2008 and the Lushan quake in April.

By the end of February 2012， local red cross organizations across China had established 684 emergency rescue teams composed of more than 21，000 people， most of whom are volunteers.

Nighttime Dives

China’s unmanned autonomous submersible Qianlong-1 successfully operated for a combined 18.5 hours during two night dives， the State Oceanic Administration announced on October 14.

Developed by Chinese scientists， the vehicle is a robot that can travel to a depth of up to 6，000 meters underwater and is tasked with exploring the sea bed and collecting hydrological data.

The two dives， the first nighttime missions for the robot， were made on October 8 and 9 and lasted 8.5 and 10 hours respectively， according to the statement.

The administration said that the Qianlong-1 had operated smoothly in the eastern Pacific Ocean in three dives that lasted nearly 30 hours in total since the first on October 6.

The vehicle is on a trial run and marks the first time a Chinese autonomous underwater craft has been used for a scientific expedition.

Drug Abuse

Young people below the age of 25 made up over half of drug abusers in China last year， said Li Guoqing， an official with the China Food and Drug Administration， at a press conference on October 16.

In 2012， methamphetamine abuse accounted for 14.9 percent more of total drug abuse than in 2008， according to Li.

The information comes from a report that monitored drug abuse in China during 2012， and found that synthetic drug abusers account for the majority of new figures.

Li said that the report also showed that the abuse of medical drugs has dropped every year for the past five years， from 30 percent of total drug abusers in 2008 to 8.2 percent in 2012.

Improving Drainage

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has signed a decree regarding urban drainage and sewage treatment， as flooding and water pollution become an increasing problem during China’s rapid urbanization.

The decree， which will come into effect on January 1， 2014， stipulates that all governments above county level must include the building and management of urban drainage and sewage treatment facilities into their economic and social development plan.

It also requires cities and towns to plan their drainage and sewage treatment systems in accordance with their local climate， geography， as well as economic and social development level.

The Experts

Dr. Ingo Nentwig （third right）， a German expert on Tibetan studies， poses for a photo with staff members from the China Tibetology Publishing House at the 2013 Frankfurt Book Fair on October 13.

The annual Frankfurt Book Fair attracted 160 Chinese publishing houses and printing companies this year.

During the book fair， the China Tibetology Publishing House showcased 43 books written in Tibetan， English and Chinese， covering areas including history， religion and culture.

Time to Harvest

Farmers in Ganzhou， east China’s Jiangxi Province， load oranges to be shipped to north China’s Tianjin for sale on October 15.

Oranges from the southern part of the province are renowned in China for their sweet taste. This year， output has increased markedly.

Cutting Overcapacity

The State Council is tackling production overcapacity， according to a statement on October 15.

The Guideline to Tackle Serious Production Overcapacity lists five prime sectors with serious overcapacity： cement， electrolytic aluminum， sheet glass， shipping and steel. The move is key to achieving stable growth and upgrading the Chinese economy.

The guideline lists tasks to deal with overcapacity， including forbidding new projects that aim to expand capacity and reappraising projects currently underway.

Growth through innovation should be stressed and mergers encouraged. Domestic and global demand should be explored， consolidated and expanded. Government should work toward better allowing the market to determine demand.

Stricter Rules

The Ministry of Commerce（MOFCOM） on October 15 called on baby formula importers to be more accurate when recording sales data and for no monopoly in the industry， which has been plagued by quality and price-manipulation scandals.

The MOFCOM vowed to provide more convenient approval procedures for qualified importers， but told them to set reasonable prices and eradicate price manipulation and other moves that amounted to unfair competition.

In August， Chinese authorities fined six baby formula companies that operate on the Chinese mainland， namely Biostime， Mead Johnson， Dumex， Abbott， Friesland and Fonterra， for a total of 670 million yuan （$108 million） following an anti-trust investigation.

The National Development and Reform Commission said formula producers set minimum resale prices for distributors and punished those who sold their products at lower prices by suspending supplies or ending contracts.

Tapping Natural Gas

The China National Petroleum Corp.（CNPC）， a parent company of the nation’s top oil and gas producer PetroChina， predicted on October 14 that its natural gas supply at home will increase 13 percent during the upcoming winter and spring seasons.

A company spokesman said the CNPC expects its gas supplies during the two seasons to total 57 billion cubic meters.

The company forecasted the hike amid robust natural gas demand as some Chinese cities begin using natural gas instead of coal for winter heating in order to reduce damage to the environment.

In a government action plan unveiled in September 2013， China vowed to take a multi-pronged approach to tackling air pollution by cutting coal use， shutting down polluters and promoting cleaner production.

Under the plan， the country will boost supplies of natural gas， coalbased substitute natural gas and coalbed methane.

London’s Yuan Hub

China and the UK on October 15 agreed to continue to build London into a major offshore market for yuan trading， underlining the strong financial ties between the two countries.

Both sides welcomed strong growth of London’s yuan markets， making the capital city the most active yuan center in the world outside China， according to a joint statement following the Fifth China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue held in Beijing.

To boost London’s market status， China will give investors based in the city the right to buy 80 billion yuan （$13.12 billion） worth of stocks， bonds and money market instruments issued by financial institutions on the Chinese mainland through a regime called RQFII， or Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor.

The extension of RQFII will deepen China’s financial markets and strengthen yuan activity offshore， the statement said.

In addition， both sides agreed to support further yuan bond issuance in the UK by Chinese as well as international firms， and the development of London as an offshore yuan debt issuance center.

Oil Refinery Project

The Export-Import Bank of China on October 16 signed an agreement to fund a $1.67 billion-loan to a Cambodian company for the construction of an oil refinery.

The agreement came after the Cambodian Petrochemical Co. and several Chinese firms signed in April a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly build a 5-million-ton oil refinery project in Cambodia.

Currently， Cambodia imports all its oil and gas from Viet Nam， Singapore and Thailand as its seabed’s oil and gas have not been exploited.

In 2012， Cambodia spent $1.62 billion on importing about 1.65 million tons of oil， according to official data. During the first eight months of this year， the nation imported 1.1 million tons of oil， costing $1.04 billion. The Cambodian Government estimated that the demand would increase up to 4 million tons a year in the coming time thanks to rapid economic growth.

Canton Fair

A car draped with angel wings on display at the 114th Canton Fair on October 15.

The fall session of the biannual event attracted more than 24，000 companies from China and abroad.