Ideal Workers

Chinese President Xi Jinping， Premier Li Keqiang and other senior leaders issue certificates of honor to national model workers during an award ceremony held in Beijing on April 28.

This ceremony was held ahead of Workers Day on May 1. Accolades were awarded to 2，968 model workers at the ceremony.

Food Safety Law

The Standing Committee of Chinas National Peoples Congress （NPC）， the countrys top legislature， adopted an amendment to the 2009 Food Safety Law on April 24 with the heaviest penalties yet for offenders.

With 154 articles， compared to 104 in the original law， the revamped Food Safety Law adds new articles and provisions on baby formula and online shopping.

Chinese citizens have been shocked by many food safety scandals in recent years， including injections of clenbuterol into pork， recycled cooking oil， selling pork from sick pigs， medicines made with toxic gelatin and passing off rat and fox meat as fit for human consumption.

The revised law outlines heavier punishment for offenders， increasing a penalty for violating the legislation， said Huang Wei with the Commission for Legislative Affairs of the NPC Standing Committee.

The new law will go into effect on October 1.

Award Reduction

China will downsize awards for art and literature by 60 percent nationwide this year， the Ministry of Culture （MOC） announced on April 27.

Too many redundant awards ceremonies and appraisals of literature and art have caused irregularities and power-for-money deals， according to the MOC.

The MOC will regulate government officials participation in competitions and awards， in a bid to promote fairness and transparency. The officials will also be forbidden from exerting any influence during award appraisals. Violators will be subject to severe penalties. Culture Minister Luo Shugang attributes the chaos in literature and art circles to self-indulgent profit seeking. Some writers and artists， obsessed by money and illusory fame， drift off course， Luo said. Instead， they should focus their creativity on social responsibility.

Employment Growth

Growth in the number of people employed in Chinas urban areas slowed for the first time since the global financial crisis in the first quarter of 2015， the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security （MOHRSS） said on April 24.

From January to March， Chinas employed rural population grew by 3.24 million， 200，000 less than the same period last year， MOHRSS spokesperson Li Zhong said at a press conference.

By the end of March， Chinas registered urban unemployment rate had stood at 4.05 percent， lower than the 4.09 percent logged for the whole of 2014 and the 4.08 percent registered in the first quarter of last year.

The MOHRSS data also showed that the gross revenue of social insurance funds had increased 15.1 percent year on year to 1.05 trillion yuan （$171.6 billion） in the first quarter， while gross expenditure had totaled 855.8 billion yuan （$13.8 billion）， up 17.1 percent from a year ago.

Chinas social insurance funds include five elements： basic pension， basic medical insurance， unemployment insurance， work-related injury insurance， and maternity insurance.

Wind Power Capacity

China has seen a steady rise in its wind power capacity， with 4.7 gigawatts of on-grid capacity added in the first quarter of the year， the National Energy Administration announced on April 28. Chinas total on-grid wind power capacity reached 101 gigawatts by the end of March， surpassing the target of 100 gigawatts by 2015 set by the government， according to the administration.

During the January-March period， Chinas wind farms produced 45.6 billion kilowatt hours of electric power， up 18.6 percent year on year， the data showed.

China has been working to increase its share of renewable energy including hydropower， wind power， solar power and nuclear power.

The State Council released an action plan on energy development for 2014-20 last November， promising more efficient， self-sufficient， green and innovative energy production and consumption.

Tobacco Ad Restricted

Chinas top legislature on April 24 adopted an amendment to the Advertisement Law that places tougher restrictions on tobacco advertising to minors.

The amendment was approved by the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress at its bimonthly session， which closed on April 24. The amendment to the 21-year-old Advertisement Law will take effect on September 1.

Advertisements for other products or services should not include the brand， trademark， packaging， design and similar contents of tobacco products， according to the new law.

Water Pollution Control

Chinas top legislature will carry out a nationwide inspection on the implementation of the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law.

Four or five teams will carry out inspections across provincial-level regions in May and June， the water pollution prevention and control committee of the National Peoples Congress Standing Committee revealed on April 28.

The inspectors will visit Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region， Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region， Heilongjiang， Anhui， Shandong and Hubei provinces， as well as other places， to examine water resource measures.

Setting Off

Chinas first self-designed deep-sea exploration vessel， Haiyang Liuhao， left the port city of Guangzhou on April 28 for research in the Pacific Ocean.

The vessel， on its fifth research expedition since being delivered for use in October 2009， set off with 130 researchers on board and carrying unmanned submersible Haima. It is due to return in the middle of November， according to Chinas marine geological authorities.

Cheers for the River

A woman of Orogen ethnic group dressed in traditional attire attends a sacrifice ceremony to celebrate the Heilongjiang River being navigable again in Huma County， northeast Chinas Heilongjiang Province， on April 28. For the long winter every year， ice crusts the parts of the Heilongjiang River that run through Chinas furthest northern reaches.

Senior Care

More than half of the proceeds from Chinas lottery ticket sales will be used for providing services to the countrys senior citizens， according to a government document.

Local governments have also been urged to improve their investment structure and increase support of old age services， according to the document jointly issued by the National Development and Reform Commission， the Ministry of Civil Affairs and a national office for elderly care.

The government should provide guidance to social resources to support their participation in the initiative， said the document on further promoting elder-care.

Construction of professional and community-based old-age services， such as nursing homes and day-care centers， is a priority in 2015， according to the document.

Tax Rebates

Overseas visitors will soon be able to claim tax refunds on purchases made in Beijing in a move to boost tourism and consumption in the city.

Concerned departments of the Beijing Municipal Government are discussing details of the tax refund scheme and it is expected to be implemented later this year， Vice Mayor Cheng Hong announced on April 27.

According to the plan， foreign tourists and those from Chinas Hong Kong， Macao and Taiwan who have stayed on the Chinese mainland for no more than six months may receive a rebate of 11 percent on consumer goods purchased at designated retail outlets.

The minimum purchase for a tax refund is 500 yuan （$82） at any one store in one day.

The Ministry of Finance announced in January that China would expand the tax refund program to spur inbound trips and boost exports of China-made commodities.

Reduced Tariffs

China will improve import and export policies to offer more choices within the domestic market， according to an executive meeting of the State Council， the cabinet， on April 28.

It was decided at the meeting that trial reductions of import tariffs on certain goods that have high domestic demand would be rolled out before June， and that varieties of imports that enjoy tax reductions will be gradually expanded.

These measures will expand domestic demand， increasing employment and improving peoples lives， as well as boosting the domestic consumer goods industry toward the medium and highend level， said a statement released after the meeting.

Boosting domestic demand is key to ensuring steady growth and successful economic restructuring， it added.

New Target

E-commerce giant Alibaba Group has announced its decision to join with a dozen domestic home appliance makers to build a large smart home appliance online distribution platform to meet rising demand from consumers.

The company will also boost collaboration with these makers， including Haier and Midea， to provide them with a sales channel and services to tap the shift toward smart devices.

“We hope to provide home appliance makers with services including online retail capability， finance and logistics services， as well as cloudcomputing capacity and software support，” said Zhang Jianfeng， President of Alibabas Retail Business Group.

Alibaba expects sales of smart home appliances to make up over half of its overall home appliance transactions， Zhang said.

British consultancy Juniper Researchs estimates showed that Chinas smart home market will be worth 140 billion yuan （$22.5 billion） by 2018.

Source of Fortune

Workers apply waterproof glue to electrotechnical porcelain products in a workshop of a local company in Luxi County， east Chinas Jiangxi Province on April 24.

At present， there are 68 factories manufacturing electrotechnical porcelain in Luxi.

FTZ Expansion

The China （Shanghai） Pilot Free Trade Zone （FTZ） on April 27 expanded to include three new parts—the Lujiazui Financial Hub， the Jinqiao Manufacturing Zone and the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Base. Covering a combined area of 120 square km， it is the largest of all four FTZs in China.

The Shanghai FTZ Administrative Committee has also established an office in the government of Pudong New Area， where the FTZ is located， in an effort to deepen government reforms and promote FTZ experience in Pudong， said Sun Jiwei， Deputy Director of the committee and Mayor of Pudong New Area.

Since the launch of the Shanghai FTZ in 2013， China has used it to test a number of new policies including negative-list management of foreign investment， preferential trade and financial policies， and opening up more industries to foreign investors.

The FTZ program was expanded in April with the launch of three new FTZs in Tianjin Municipality and Guangdong and Fujian provinces.

EV Contract

Chinas leading battery maker and electric vehicle producer BYD Motors Inc. has won an order for 60 all-electric buses from a U.S. mass-transit operator， the company said on April 27.

“Positive energy will always win！ Finally we won the Long Beach Transit award again—the only difference is that now is 60 instead of 20！ Cheers！” said Stella Li， President of BYD Motors and Senior Vice President of BYD Co. Ltd.， on WeChat， a popular Chinese social network.

The Long Beach Transit Board of Directors on April 27 awarded an$11.7-million contract to Los Angelesbased BYD Motors to manufacture 10 battery-powered buses and charging systems.

The transit authority， which serves portions of the Los Angeles metropoli- tan area， will order 10 battery-powered buses with options for its partner agencies to buy as many as 50 more.

The buses will be zero-emission， Long Beach Transit CEO Kenneth McDonald said， adding that they will be “the cleanest buses we have offered to date” and on the “leading edge of technology in the industry.”

Alarming Gap

The Ministry of Finance on April 28 urged local authorities to advance fiscal and tax reforms as growth of fiscal revenue has slowed.

The ministry highlighted the yawning gap between fiscal revenue and expenditure， urging local governments to strengthen tax collection.

Fiscal revenue rose 5.8 percent year on year to reach 1.07 trillion yuan （$174 billion） in March， while national fiscal spending expanded 4.4 percent from a year ago to 1.4 trillion yuan （$225.68 billion）.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said in March that proactive fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy in 2015 would deliver the economic target of around 7-percent growth.

The government plans to raise Chinas budget deficit to 2.3 percent of its GDP for 2015， up from last years target of 2.1 percent.

Propelling Investment

Chinas top economic planner is likely to announce a batch of projects to help stabilize growth and boost investment， an official said on April 24.

New projects will be in line with macroeconomic policies， said Luo Guosan， Deputy Director of the Department of Fixed Asset Investment under the National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC）.

Since last September， the NDRC has approved seven project packages on information technology， electricity， oil and gas networks， environmental protection and clean energy， Luo said.

Overall investment has been falling remarkably， but investment in infrastructure has been rising quickly， he said.

Triumph in Sky and Sea

Large components of the rear fuselage of China-made amphibious aircraft AG600 are finished on April 27.

Railway Deal

The government of Nigerias southwestern Ogun state on April 27 signed agreements with a Chinese company for the construction of a railway line that will link major cities in the state and will eventually extend to neighboring states.

The project undertaken by China Civil Engineering Construction Corp.（CCECC） is valued at $3.5 billion， according to Ogun state governor Ibikunle Amosun.

Trains will be able to travel fast on the light-rail line in the future， which will reduce the pressure on the highways in the state， Amosun said at the signing ceremony， adding that it will boost the local economy and improve peoples lives.

Speaking on the sidelines of the ceremony， Cao Baogang， Chairman of CCECC， assured that the company would offer a hi-tech rail system that would boost the economy of the state.

Cao added that local workers will be trained before the completion of the project in order for them to join the management of the railway line afterward.