500 DAYS TO GO

Children display the mascots of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games during a cultural event before the Great Wall in Badaling in Beijing on September 20. The day marked the start of the 500-day countdown to the Games.

“The 500-day countdown is a landmark. I hope todays cultural activities will promote the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games to people all over China，” He Jianghai， Deputy Secretary General of the organizing committee of Beijing 2022， said.

Successful Launch

A Long March-11 carrier rocket blasts off from a ship in the Yellow Sea on September 15， sending nine satellites into planned orbit. It is Chinas fi rst sea-launched rocket.

The Long March-11 is the only one among Chinas Long March rocket series that uses solid propellants， mainly used to carry small satellites.

Self-Driving Pilot

Beijing plans to build a cloud-based pilot area for self-driving vehicles before the end of this year， according to government sources on September 19.

The 60-square-km pilot zone， located in the Beijing EconomicTechnological Development Area， also known as E-Town， will feature integrated smart roads， intelligent vehicles， real-time cloud， reliable network and precise maps， Kong Lei， an offi cial with the administration of E-Town， said.

The area will be used for L4 and higher-level autonomous vehicles， as well as for the trial operation of lower-level self-driving vehicles and the testing of Internet of Vehicles（IoV） applications.

L4 automation generally requires no human involvement or oversight， while lower-level automation such as L3 only conditionally allows drivers to take their hands off the wheel or eyes off the road at low speeds.

The pilot zone will be adjusted and upgraded every three to six months to pinpoint the synergy among roads， vehicles and the cloud， Kong said， adding that the mature pattern will be replicated in other areas of Beijing.

Fewer Dropouts

The number of dropouts in the nineyear compulsory education stage had fallen to around 2，400 by September 15， down from around 600，000 in 2019， an offi cial with the Ministry of Education （MOE） said on September 23.

The net enrolment rate for primary education was 99.94 percent in 2019， Vice Minister of Education Zheng Fuzhi said at a press conference.

Some school-age children are unable to attend school this year mostly due to physical challenges， Zheng said， adding that tailormade education services are being provided for them at their home.

The authorities have ensured that no student will drop out of school because of poverty by offering fi nancial aid to students from impoverished households， exempting all students from tuition and fees， and providing subsidies for nutritious meals for about 40 million rural children every year， Zheng said.

In 2019 alone， 212.6 billion yuan（$31.3 billion） of fi nancial aid was given to students from poor families. About 80 percent of the funds for basic education， ranging from preschool education to junior high school education， went to central and western regions， MOE data showed.

Zheng said conditions in rural schools have improved.

In recent years， about 950，000 teachers have been recruited to work in 30，000 primary and secondary schools in around 1，000 impoverished counties to raise the quality of education in less developed areas.

The ministries of education and fi nance should establish a long-term system to ensure that teachers salaries are not lower than civil servants， he said.

Aiding Xinjiang

The latest group of personnel from Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Committee and state institutions and centrally administered state-owned enterprises arrived in Urumqi， capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China， on September 21 to take part in an assistance program for the regions development.

The 579 members are from over 110 Party and state institutions and enterprises， according to the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee.

They will work in key sectors including education， fi nance， tourism， health， and agricultural technology， or hold positions in areas of urgent need for three years.

China has been implementing the assistance program for Xinjiangs development since 1997， channeling fi nancial support from developed regions and sending more than 20，000 cadres and professionals to the region.

Airport Milestone

The total passenger throughput at the Beijing Daxing International Airport exceeded 10 million on September 22. It began operation last September.

Currently， the airport operates 187 domestic air routes， serving 129 destinations across the country. As of September 21， it had handled takeoffs and landings of 84，000 fl ights， with a cargo and mail throughput of about 39，000 tons.

Air carriers are transferring f light operations from the Beijing Capital International Airport to the Daxing airport. China Southern Airlines has transferred 80 percent of its fl ights in Beijing. The company is estimated to operate more than 200 planes at the new airport and fl y 28.8 million passengers by 2025.

Festive Mood

A light decoration for the Mid-Autumn Festival in the Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on September 22. The traditional holiday for family reunion coincided with the National Day on October 1 this year.

Marine Expo

The 2020 East Asia Marine Expo opened in Qingdao， Shandong Province in east China， on September 22， convening more than 770 companies and institutes from over 70 countries and regions.

More than 50，000 exhibits were displayed at the six-day expo. They covered ocean engineering， offshore oil and gas exploration， seabed exploration， deep-sea aquaculture and scientifi c research equipment. There were also special sections showing scientifi c achievements in marine surveying and mapping and fi shery products.

The expo， which was also accessible online， was a major part of the 2020 East Asia Marine Cooperation Platform Qingdao Forum， which was jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Shandong Provincial Government.

Ancient Avenue

Archaeologists have unearthed a 2.5-km-long avenue dating back nearly 2，000 years in Luoyang， Henan Province in central China， Xinhua News Agency reported on September 21.

The road， about 34 meters wide， was a major east-west avenue extending between the relic sites of Ximingmen and Qingyangmen in the southern part of Luoyang. It was built in the Eastern Han Dynasty （25-220） and remained in use until the Northern Wei Dynasty （386-534）.

The discovery was made during excavations that started earlier this year， led by the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Researchers conducting the excavation obtained information on the location， direction and structure of the avenue， as well as the preservation condition of the underground relics， Liu Tao， a researcher with the institute， said.

The road section shows different soil layers from various time periods， with signs of ruts on many different layers.

“More than 500 years of the citys history are refl ected in the road sections，” Guo Xiaotao with the institute said.

At the bottom of an excavation site， the archaeologists also discovered some brick structures， measuring about 1.5-1.6 meters wide， which were likely used for water drainage.

Shedding Off Poverty

Farmers work in a greenhouse in Yazhong， a village in Chadmdo， Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China， on September 21. The village has built 18 greenhouses， providing jobs to 36 farmers living under the poverty line.

Caregiving Tips

The China Population Welfare Foundation and the Alzheimers Disease China， a non-profi t organization， issued a series of suggestions on family care for Alzheimers disease （AD） patients on September 21， World Alzheimers Day.

The suggestions cover various aspects of the disease， including how to accept AD diagnosis， how the disease progresses， and how to talk about the illness with composure.

Safety is the top priority when it comes to family care for AD patients.

The suggestions also underscore the need to ensure that patients are physically comfortable， maintain personal hygiene and consume a nutritious diet， in addition to preventing them from getting lost， taking wrong pills， falling or getting injured by sharp objects.

As the disease progresses， patients tend to express their needs increasingly through their behaviors instead of words.

FTZ Plans

The State Council has issued master plans for three new pilot free trade zones （FTZs） in Beijing and Hunan and Anhui provinces amid efforts to elevate the countrys opening up to a higher level.

The plans outline the priorities for these zones and pledge to give them greater autonomy to carry out reforms and expand opening up.

The Beijing FTZ will focus on supporting the construction of an innovation center with global infl uence. It will also become a highlevel opening-up platform for the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

The plan also details measures for creating an internationally leading environment for innovation and entrepreneurship， advancing innovation in services trade management， and exploring the construction of an international port for the information technology industry and digital trade in the Beijing zone.

The FTZ in Hunan in central China will focus on building a worldclass advanced manufacturing cluster， an international investment and trade corridor linking the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area， and a leading area for in-depth economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa.

Expected to set the standard for opening up in the inland region， the FTZ in Anhui in east China will center on promoting in-depth integration of scientifi c and technological innovation and the development of the real economy.

Trademark Progress

The National Intellectual Property Administration （NIPA） said on September 18 that Chinas accumulative valid trademark registrations had totaled 28.23 million as of August.

In the fi rst eight months this year， the total applications for trademark registration reached 6.03 million， a 20.98-percent increase compared with the same period in 2019.

Since 2016， China has been implementing reforms to increase trademark application channels， enhance the effi ciency of related reviews， and improve services， according to Yao Kun， Deputy Director of the Trademark Department of NIPA.

At present， the registration review of a trademark takes four and a half months on average. There are 212 offi ces across the country for trademark registration and 103 for trademark pledge fi nancing.

To facilitate application， trademark authorities provide 25 services online. In the fi rst eight months this year， online registrations accounted for 97.83 percent of all applications.

Meeting of Minds

Participants attend the opening ceremony of the 2020 World Industrial Internet Conference in Qingdao， Shandong Province in east China， on September 20. The two-day event focused on the integrated development of the sectors of the industrial Internet， with participants from Chinese and foreign universities， research institutions and enterprises.

Campus Recruitment

About 33 percent of Chinese companies have begun their autumn campus recruitment， with another 20 percent preparing to begin， according to a recent survey by Zhaopin.com， a leading career platform in China.

Among enterprises with recruitment plans， 42.6 percent saw a yearon-year increase in hiring， it said.

Those majoring in materials science and engineering， electronic science and technology， software engineering and other digitalizationrelated fi elds are in high demand， Li Qiang， Executive Vice President of Zhaopin.com， said.

Employment has remained stable in recent months， with the surveyed urban unemployment rate standing at 5.6 percent in August， according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Rio Tinto Operations

Rio Tintos subsidiary Rio Tinto Mining Commercial （Shanghai） Co. Ltd. and Dalian Port Co. Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in port handling， storage， blending， and transshipment of iron ore on September 22.

They will also cooperate in bonded-area operations and trade and jointly build an iron ore blending and distribution center in northeast Asia， according to the document.

It was the fi rst time for Rio Tinto to develop bonded area operations for blending iron ore at a Chinese port.

“The [blended] iron ore will be sold to steel enterprises in northeast China， Japan and the Republic of Korea，” Chen Sheng， General Manager of Rio Tinto Iron Ore China， said.

Dalian Port in the northeastern province of Liaoning owns a specialized ore terminal that can handle ore ships with a loading capacity up to 400，000 tons. It has blended more than 46 million tons of iron ore since it started the business in 2016.

Smart Vehicle

An L4 autonomous bus makes its debut at a ceremony in Chongqing in southwest China on September 17. It was jointly developed by Baidu Apollo， an open-source autonomous driving platform， and bus manufacturer King Long. L4 automation generally requires no human involvement or oversight.

Sci-Tech Projects

Twenty sci-tech projects worth 16.3 billion yuan （$2.4 billion） in total were signed at the 23rd China Beijing International High-Tech Expo on September 18.

The projects， focusing on highend industrial chains as well as high-level and advanced industries， included an integrated circuit core equipment industrial park of the China Electronics Technology Group Corp.， a research facility of e-commerce giant JD.com， and an Internet of Things industrial park.

Some projects integrated sci-tech innovations with socioeconomic development， including the headquarters of a ride-hailing company of Chinese automaker FAWs iconic sedan brand Hongqi， and a mass production project of micro gas turbines.

This years expo attracted 11 international organizations， including the UN Industrial Development Organization and the World Federation of Engineering Organizations， as well as more than 800 tech fi rms from China and abroad.

First held in 1998， the expo saw more than 37，000 Chinese and foreign institutions and enterprises participating in its previous 22 sessions， with over 5，600 contracts， agreements， and letters of intent worth 1.04 trillion yuan （$153.44 billion） signed.