Green Spring

Volunteers plant trees at Siyuan Experimental School in Chongqing on March 11 for the Tree Planting Day， which fell on March 12.

More than 300 volunteers planted over 1，000 trees on the day.

Forest Coverage

Forest coverage in Beijing was 41 percent by the end of last year， authorities revealed on March 11.

According to the Beijing Greening Committee， a total of 197 million trees have been planted in the capital city following an ordinance on tree planting in 1981. Nearly 88 percent of those trees have survived.

Over the past 34 years， more than 86 million people have been involved in tree-planting campaigns.

By the end of 2014， nearly 47.4 percent of Beijing had foliage， with public green space per capita reaching 15.9 square meters， it said.

Forestation over the years has helped reduce sandstorms in Beijing， but the city is still under pressure to improve its air quality.

Offshore Water Pollution

The majority of Chinas offshore sea areas are under threat from pollution， a report from the State Oceanic Administration （SOA） has indicated.

Of the areas monitored by the SOA in the summer of 2014， 81 percent， or 41，000 square km， was polluted. It said most of the polluted water was concentrated in river estuaries or bays. The main pollutants are inorganic nitrogen， reactive phosphate and oil.

The situation has only slightly improved from the previous year， when the SOA recorded 44，340 square km of polluted sea water.

The report said nearly half of the 445 major pollution discharge points along coastlines failed environmental requirements， greatly compromising water quality.

Marine disasters such as red tides and green algae also impacted larger sea areas in 2014 than in 2013， according to the report.

Judicial Auctions Online

Nearly 700 courts in 21 provincial areas registered accounts on sf.taobao. com， the nations largest online site for judicial auctions， as of February. So far nearly 90，000 auctions have been finished， figures from the site show.

In November 2014， an auction of real estate properties seized by a court in east Chinas Jiangsu Province set the sf.taobao.com price record after reaching 350 million yuan （$55.88 million）.

In July 2012， a BMW sedan was sold on Taobao.com after being seized in a lawsuit by the Beilun District Peoples Court in Ningbo， east Chinas Zhejiang Province. It marked the countrys first judicial auction to take place on a third-party commercial website without an agent.

So far， all courts in Beijing and Zhejiang， Jiangsu， Henan， Fujian， and Guizhou provinces have opened accounts on Taobao.com and pilot auctions have been launched for courts in 15 other provinces， including Guangdong， Yunnan and Sichuan.

Garbage Treatment

More than 97 percent of Chinas urban household garbage was disposed of properly last year， according to a report released on March 6.

The 2014 report on the impact of solid waste on the environment in large and medium-sized Chinese cities was released by the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

The first-ever report said that China produced 161 million tons of household garbage and nearly 2.4 billion tons of industrial solid waste in major cities.

Shanghai produced more household garbage than any other city last year， according to the report.

Solid industrial waste was mainly produced in northern China， with Hebei and Shanxi provinces as well as Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region being the top three industrial waste producers， it said.

Cargo in Space

China will send a cargo vessel into space in 2016 to dock with a future space module scheduled to be launched earlier the same year， a leading space scientist revealed on March 6.

The Tianzhou-1， which literally means “heavenly vessel，” will carry propellants， living necessities for astronauts， research facilities and repair equipment to Chinas second orbiting space lab Tiangong-2， said Zhou Jianping， chief engineer of Chinas manned space program.

Cargo transportation is a key technology China must master as well as making breakthroughs in building its own space station， said Zhou who is also a member of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference， the countrys top political advisory body.

Chinas multi-billion-dollar space program， a source of surging national pride in the country， aims to put a permanent manned space station into service around 2022.

The country already launched its first space lab， Tiangong-1， in September 2011 and has conducted two dockings with the module in the following two years. In June 2013， three Chinese astronauts delivered a physics lesson onboard Tiangong-1.

Ten-Year Visa

A Canadian citizen Timothy Mark Hay receives a validity of up to 10 years at the Chinese Visa Application Service Center in Toronto， Canada， on March 9.

The Chinese embassy and consulates in Canada began to grant visas to Canadian citizens also carrying validity periods of up to 10 years on March 9， according to the arrangement which had been agreed upon earlier between the two countries.

S&T Investment

Chinese venture capital investors have invested more than 350 billion yuan （$56.8 billion） in science and technology companies， according to Wan Gang， Minister of Science and Technology.

More than 1，600 business incubators are providing services for science and technology companies， said Wan.

In 2014， total technology transaction volume reached 857.7 billion yuan（$138 billion）， 15 percent higher than the previous year.

Wan commented that people could learn from original incubators， such as Garage Coffee in Beijing and Chaihuo Maker Space in south Chinas Shenzhen， to set up more platforms offering startups workplaces， networks， rooms for social and shared resources.

Return Trip

Chinese icebreaker Xuelong， which translates as Snow Dragon， sails through ice on its journey out of the Antarctic circle. Xuelong began its return journey on March 9 after an expedition lasting more than three months in Antarctic waters.

Inflation Quickens

Chinas consumer price index （CPI）， the main gauge of inflation， grew 1.4 percent year on year in February， the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） said on March 10.

The stronger-than-expected reading grew from the 0.8-percent gain in January， the lowest level in more than five years.

NBS statistician Yu Qiumei attributed the recovery to rising food and travel prices during the Chinese Spring Festival holiday （February 18-24）. Distortions caused by the timing of the Spring Festival， which fell on January 31 in 2014 but on February 19 in 2015， also played a part， the NBS explained.

Food prices， which account for nearly one third of weighting in Chinas CPI， increased 2.4 percent year on year in February.

Chinas producer price index （PPI）， which measures wholesale inflation， plunged 4.8 percent year on year in February， marking its 36th straight month of decline and pointing to continuing weak market demand.

The factory-gate price decline deepened from Januarys 4.3 percent and Decembers 3.3 percent， and posted its steepest fall since March 2012 when the index embarked on a downward trend， according to the NBS.

However， on a monthly basis， the PPI contracted 0.7 percent in February， narrowing from a 1.1-percent fall in January.

Yu attributed the slower monthly decline to an improvement in the factory-gate prices in oil processing， chemical and non-ferrous metal industries.

Trade Rebound

Chinas trade rebounded in February from the previous months surprise contraction， but imports were subdued in another sign of continued weakness in the worlds second largest economy.

Exports surged 48.3 percent in February from a year earlier， reversing the 3.3-percent decline in January. However， imports plunged by 20.5 percent， steeper than the previous months 19.9-percent fall， according to data from the General Administration of Customs（GAC）.

February exports amounted to$169.19 billion， while imports added up to $108.57 billion， resulting in a widening trade surplus of $60.62 billion.

China lowered its annual foreign trade growth target to around 6 percent for 2015 from the 7.5-percent goal set for 2014.

Finishing Touches

An oil storage project invested in by Sinomart KTS Development Ltd.， a subsidiary of Sinopec Group， is completed in Fujairah Free Zone， United Arab Emirates， on March 11.

The project， Fujairah Oil Terminals FZC （FOT）， consists of a 1.17-million-cubic-meter oil storage facility. It is Sinopecs first overseas joint venture oil storage project.

Merger On Track

High-speed rail manufacturers China North Railway （CNR） and China South Railway （CSR） announced that their merger had passed overseas antitrust scrutiny.

Antitrust regulators—in this case， in Australia， Germany， Pakistan and Singapore—have approved the merger with no additional conditions or obligations attached， according to a statement released by the two companies in the Shanghai Stock Exchange on March 10.

The approvals mean the two firmsoverseas projects will not be affected by the merger， according to the statement.

On March 9， the two companies announced that the merger plan had been approved in the general meetings of both sets of shareholders. The plan includes a new company name， stock swap agreement and personnel settlement.

The companies announced the merger plan last December， aiming to build a new provider of high-end railway equipment. The deal will help Chinas high-speed rail go global and avoid competition between the two. The pair will merge into a new company， which will inherit both companiesassets， liabilities， businesses， staff，contracts， certificates as well as all other rights and obligations.

The State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council agreed to the merger on March 5. The merger is still subject to review by authorities including the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Commerce.

Speeding Bullet

A CRH380A bullet train， an electric high-speed train developed and manufactured by China， in a trial run on the Lanzhou-Xinjiang High-Speed Railways Hami section in northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on March 10.

Silk Road Atlas

A map covering the major countries along the proposed Silk Road Economic Belt was published in northwest Chinas Shaanxi Province， compilers said on March 9.

According to the Shaanxi Administration of Surveying， Mapping and Geoinformation， the atlas includes geographic， transportation， cultural and economic information covering 16 countries and regions including China， Kazakhstan， Iran and Turkey.

The atlas is the first comprehensive profile of the major countries along the Silk Road.

Chinas Silk Road Economic Belt initiative was proposed in 2013 to improve cooperation between China and countries in Central Asia and Europe. The belt will be established along the ancient Silk Road trade route， stretching northwest from Chinas coastal area through Central Asia， the Middle East and on to Europe.

Back to Power

The National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC） has approved the construction of the second phase of a nuclear power in northeast Chinas Liaoning Province， the first approved since 2011， a company source said on March 10.

The second phase of the Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Station involves 2 million-kilowatt generators. Approved by the NDRC， the second phase still needs a construction license from the National Nuclear Safety Administration.

The construction of the project in Liaoning will use the self-developed nuclear power technology of China General Nuclear Power Group based in south Chinas Guangdong Province， said Yang Xiaofeng， General Manager of Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Co. Ltd.

China suspended the approval of new nuclear plants and carried out a nationwide safety review after Japans Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in March 2011. Last year， China said it would restart nuclear power generation projects in eastern coastal areas with the worlds highest safety standards.

Nuclear power generation takes up about 2 percent of the total in China， much lower than the world average of 15 percent.

Aircraft Manufacturing

China expects breakthroughs in aircraft manufacturing this year， as the plans for several types of large planes will likely come to fruition after years of effort， sources close to the matter said on March 9.

“Chinas largest homegrown airfreighter Xian Y-20 （Kunpeng） will become available for delivery in the near term，” Tang Changhong， Deputy Chief Engineer of Aviation Industry Corp. of China （AVIC）， said on March 9.

The aircraft is able to rival international counterparts with cutting-edge technology after being tested in highly challenging and extreme conditions， Tang said.

Manufactured by Xian Aircraft Industry （Group） Co.， a subsidiary of AVIC， it made a smooth maiden flight in 2013 after seven years of development.

Tang said the project has high value-added and an enormous industrial chain that will help the countrys hitech industry.

Chinas first large passenger aircraft， the C919， and a new large amphibious aircraft， the AG600， will also come online in 2015. The latter will make its maiden flight in 2016.