Customs makes its biggest tusk bustuangpu Customs Distri
China’s customs officers have seized 2,748 ivory tusks weighing a combined 7.48 metric tons after cracking a major smuggling case.
he monetary policy should “maintain strategic focu
cus”, keeping it prudent while the liquidity should be at a reasonably adequate level, it said.
Financial policies are required to further support small and private companies, and fun
ding through the capital market is supported by the authorities, according to the statement.
The central bank had skipped open market operations for 15 conse
cutive working days until Monday. “Reasonable and adequate liquidity in the banking syste
m” was the main reason for the absence of open market operations, according to a statement from the central bank.
To cut or not to cut the RRR, a strong tool for liquidity adjustm
ent, has become a hot topic since April, not only for investors, but also for policy advisers.
Divergent opinions are spreading among a broader group of market observer
s. The market is trying to get more indications from the monetary authority, although the C
hinese central bank barely sends any hints on possible monetary policy operations before taking action.
The latest official tone came from central bank’s D
puty Governor Chen Yulu over the weekend. He reassured that monetary policy will remain “p
rudent” and “with proper intensity”. The growth of broad money supply (M2) and aggregate social financi
ng should align with nominal GDP growth, according to a statement on the central bank’s website.
The deputy governor delivered a speech at the 39th mee
ting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee in Washington.
Chen also stressed that the further improvement of the exchange rate regime wo
uld “keep the renminbi exchange rate generally stable at an adaptive and equilibrium level”.
Lu Ting, chief economist in China with Nomura Securities, wrote in a research note that de
spite solid credit growth, underpinned by ongoing monetary and credit easing measures, the government is u
nlikely to engineer another long and large-scale “credit boom” due to much narrower policy room than before.
Premier Li signs revised regulation on gov’t informati
Premier Li Keqiang has signed a revised regulation on the disclosure
of government information to better respond to public concerns.
The revision, based on the 2008 version, is aimed at increasing openness of government
affairs and resolving prominent problems in government information disclosure.
It also represents the headway and achievements made in this field over the past years and clarified the scope of governm
ent information disclosure, calling for constantly expanding information disclosure.
Stressing the need to improve the legal rights and interests of the a
pplicants and related parties when applying for information disclosure in accordance with pr
ocedures, the revision also made necessary stipulations on the improper exercise of application rights by a small num
ber of applicants affecting the normal conduct of government information disclosure.
Efforts should be made to improve the effectiveness of government information disclosure by using information techn
ology, to enable government information to play its due role in serving the people, it added.
The plan calls for integration of AI with mathematics, st
, statistics, physics, biology, psychology and sociology, among other disci
plines. It promotes the “AI + X” interdisciplinary approa
ch in universities and aims to set up 100 majors that combine AI and other subjects by 2020.
Many Chinese universities have set their sights on improving AI education and nurturin
g more AI talent and have established new AI departments and research institutes.
Tsinghua University established an AI institute in 2018 as p
art of its efforts to advance AI research and education.
Aiming to become a globally influential AI research institution, the institute focuses on the basic theory of AI and activ
ely promotes cross-disciplinary AI research as well as the integration of academia and industry.
The company will not cancel social insurance and housi
sing funds for the sake of cost-cutting, Liu said, adding some staff made 80,000 yuan a
month in pilot areas for the new salary regime in southern China’s second and third-tier cities.
Earlier this year, rumors spread that China’s e-commerce giant would can
cel couriers’ basic salary and reduce welfare. The company confirmed the salary adjus
tment plan via its official Sina Weibo account on April 7, saying as the number of orders from individual clients incre
ases, the company is looking to adopt an incentive plan to reward outstanding employees.
JD will reduce its delivery staff members’ salaries by adopting a commis
sion-based payment scheme starting in June and low
er contributions to employees’ housing funds from 12 to 7 percent, Sina Finance reported.
An anonymous courier with JD Logistics said the task of getting more external delivery
orders under the new salary system would be hard to accomplish, and the new policy will reduce their salary, th
e report alleged, though the courier did not indicate an exact amount for the reduction.
Statistics show basic monthly salaries for couriers ran
nges from 1,500 to 2,000 yuan, accounting for 15 to 20 percent of the total according to the report.
JD refuted the mass layoff rumor and said more than 10,000 positions are expe
cted to be added as JD Logistics provides services to more industry customers.
Facing tougher competition from rivals such as Alibaba and Pinduoduo, JD is eyei
ng opportunities in the consumer market, which has shown great potential, Sina Finance reported.
Driven by rapid growth of e-comm
The annual survey Amazing China — the Most Attractive Chinese Cities for Expats 2018 unveiled its results at the Shenzhen foru
m of the Conference on International Exchange of Professionals on April 14 in Shenzhen, South China’s Guangdong province.
Zhang Jianguo, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology, announced the results.
erce consumption, China’s express delivery volume reached 50.71 billio
n in 2018, an increase of 26.6 percent over the same period last year, the report said.
Plenkovic said CEE countries’ exports to China rose f
fivefold in the past few years, which helps reduce trade disparities with developed
economies. He called on all CEE nations to take the opportunity to deepen economic and trade cooperation with China.
Zhong Shan, minister of commerce, said over 1,000 people participated, the most since the event started nine yea
rs ago. “It demonstrates the increasing confidence in the forum and cooperation with China at large,” he said.
In recent years, China’s trade with CEE nations has seen rapid growth. According to the Ministry
of Commerce, China’s imports from the countries have risen by 24.6 percent to $23 billion. Chinese compan
ies have invested over $10 billion in CEE nations, which in turn have injected more than $1.5 billion into China,
focusing on machinery, auto components, the chemical industry, financing and environmental protection.
After the forum, Li and Plenkovic attended an exhibition of Chin
a-CEEC education cooperation and a dialogue mechanism to boost cooperation among small an
d medium-sized enterprises from both sides. Before leaving for Beijing, Li also had separate
Kim Jong-un says 3rd summit with Trump possible
PYONGYANG – Kim Jong-un, top leader of the Democratic People’s Repub
lic of Korea (DPRK), said he is willing to meet the US president again on certain cond
itions, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Saturday.
Kim made the remarks in his policy speech marking the First Session of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) on Frid
ay, a day after he was re-elected as chairman of the DPRK’s State Affairs Commission (SAC).
“If the United States adopts a correct posture and comes to the third DPRK-US summit with a certain methodology that can be shar
ed with us, we can think of holding one more (round of) talks,” Kim said. “It is necessary for both sides not to table t
heir unilateral demands but find out a constructive solution to meet each other’s interests.”
The top leader said he will “wait for a bold decision” from Trump “with patience till the end of this year.”
In his speech, Kim blamed the United States for only considering
its own interests during the second DPRK-US Summit in Vietnam’s Hanoi this Febru
ary. This has led the DPRK to question Trump’s willingness to improve relations with the DPRK.
It’s more than just dance: both consider the ball a
window to Viennese social traditions, classical music, and Austrian culture.
