White World

Artists work on a snow sculpture， which is the highest in the world， at Sun Island in Harbin， Heilongjiang Province， on December 24， 2015.

The 51-meter-high exhibit was created for the 28th Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Expo， which kicked off on January 5， 2016.

Smoking Condition

The secondhand smoke exposure has dropped in China despite an increase of 15 million smokers in the past five years， said a report released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention on December 28， 2015.

The report is based on a survey of 15，095 people aged 15 years and above in urban and rural areas. It showed that compared with 2010， the secondhand smoking exposure rate fell from 34.6 percent to 17.2 percent in primary and middle schools and from 54.9 percent to 38.1 percent in government buildings. It also dropped in workplaces， restaurants， public transport vehicles and medical institutions.

The Chinese smoking population， though， has increased to 316 million， or 27.7 percent of the total targeted population. The smoking rate was 52.1 percent for males and 2.7 percent for females.

Each smoker consumes an average of 15.2 cigarettes per day， or an increase of one cigarette compared to five years ago， according to the report. Despite the rise of tobacco prices， the purchasing power of urban and rural residents has also grown.

Poverty Reduction

China aims to lift over 10 million rural people out of poverty this year， so as to make a good start for the next five years， according to a poverty relief meeting on December 24， 2015.

The work in 2016 would integrate the central and local efforts to tackle poverty more accurately， said Liu Yongfu， director of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development.

China has lifted around 100 million rural people out of poverty since 2010， leaving 60 million more to help by the end of 2020， when it has vowed to lift everyone out of poverty.

New Jobs

China has created more than 64 million new jobs for urban residents since 2011， topping the governments target of 45 million for the five-year period， said Yin Weimin， Minister of Human Resources and Social Security， on December 28， 2015.

Yin said at a meeting that the number of new jobs created annually has topped 12 million for five years in a row. From 2011 till now， the registered urban unemployment rate stood at about 4.1 percent.

In 2015， China aimed to create at least 10 million new jobs and keep its registered urban unemployment rate below 4.5 percent. The country created 10.66 million new jobs in the first three quarters and the unemployment rate was 4.05 percent at the end of September， data showed.

Education Support

The government has raised basic financial support for primary and junior middle schools catering to disabled students to 6，000 yuan（$924） per child every year up from 4，000 yuan （$615）， according to the Ministry of Education.

The move underlines Chinas commitment to no-cost primary and middle school education for at least 90 percent of children with visual， hearing and learning disabilities by the end of 2016， up from 71.9 percent in 2012.

As part of a 2014 plan on special needs education， the government promised more investment， infrastructure， quality teachers and new curricula.

Meanwhile， general primary schools in east China will receive 650 yuan （$100） annually for every student they have and junior high schools will get 850 yuan （$131）.

Based on these standards， which took effect on January 1， 2016， more than 11 billion yuan （$1.7 billion） has been allocated from the central budget to ensure the smooth operation of primary and junior middle schools in urban areas for the 2016 spring semester， the ministry added.

Middle-Class Profile

An average middle class resident in Beijing earns 256，016 yuan （$39，478） per year， the highest among Chinese cities， according to a research report released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences （CASS）.

The report features the profiles of middle-class residents across three of the countrys most developed cities—Beijing， Shanghai and Guangzhou in Guangdong Province.

According to the paper， an aver-age middle class citizen in Shanghai earns 219，770 yuan （$33，889） annually meanwhile they earn 170，037 yuan （$26，220） in Guangzhou.

The average annual income of the middle class in the three cities is approximately 200，000 yuan（$30，800）， 3.5 times the average of the lower strata.

According to the criteria， 55 percent of the population in Beijing is middle class， in Shanghai it is 51 percent， and in Guangzhou it is 42.5 percent.

An average middle-class resident reads 12 books per year， and 62 percent buy food in supermarkets compared to 37.6 percent of the less wealthy group choosing to do so， the majority of whom apparently prefer cheaper street markets.

The research also compared peoples awareness of their social status today with five years ago. It found that 48.8 percent of interviewees in Beijing and 61 percent in Shanghai identify as middle class now， as compared to 30 percent in Beijing and 48 percent in Shanghai half a decade ago.

Muslim Magazine

Northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region published a bimonthly magazine for its 13 million Muslims on December 22， 2015. Xinjiang Muslims， launched by the Xinjiang Regional Islamic Association and Xinjiang Islamic Institute， covers policy， law and scrip- ture explanation， Islamic doctrines， mosques and fortune stories.

The magazine is published in the three major languages of the region—Uygur， Mandarin and Kazak. The circulation is currently 80，000， including 60，000 issues in Uygur， 10，000 in Mandarin and 10，000 in Kazak.

A website for the magazine， Xjmuslim.com， was also launched on the same day.

Safety Accident

Rescuers work on the site of a deadly landslide in Shenzhen， Guangdong Province， on December 21， 2015.

The landslide happened at an industrial park on the previous day， and was confirmed by an investigation team from the State Council as a work safety accident rather than a geological disaster.

By December 29， 2015， the death toll was confirmed at seven people， with 75 still unaccounted for.

Public Say

An official circular on reforming Chinas art and literature awards said that appraisals from ordinary people will be an important parameter.

The circular， made public on December 28， 2015 by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council， said that appraisals from the general public， artists and literati should be integrated with commercial indicators such as audience ratings， box office and circulation.

It added that public popularity and whether the art and literature works feature ordinary peoples lives will be important indicators to be factored in during evaluations. Artists or writers with notorious records or reputations will be barred from competing for awards.

The Ministry of Culture in April 2015 vowed to streamline the chaotic art and literature awards， blaming too many redundant awards ceremonies and appraisals for having caused irregularities and power-formoney deals.

Larger Palace

Visitors attend an exhibition of Asian Buddhist artworks at the Southern Branch of Palace Museum in Chiayi， Taiwan， on December 28， 2015 when the long-awaited facility was inaugurated.

The project， with an area of about 68 hectares， is made up of a museum building， a green park and a lake. Its design and construction took about 11 years to complete.

Tibet Insurance

Urban residents in Tibet Autonomous Region are now covered by serious illness insurance， according to the local government. Residents with medical insurance records will be covered by the new policies， and the local government will cover the premiums， said Ma Quanping， head of the Insurance Regulatory Bureau of Tibet， on December 26， 2015.

The regional government paid more than 10 million yuan （$1.54 million） to insure 294，000 people in 2015. The insurance would cover 70 to 90 percent of medical bills that exceed 5，000 yuan （$770） and is designed to alleviate the financial burden that accompanies serious illnesses like cancer， heart attacks or strokes， according to Ma.

The insurance is managed by the Tibetan branch of the Peoples Insurance Co. of China. In April 2015， Tibet adopted the policy to promote the development of its budding insurance sector.

AIIB Established

The China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank（AIIB）， a complement to the existing international financial system， was formally established in Beijing on December 25， 2015 and is expected to start its operations this year.

The establishment of the AIIB marks a milestone in the reform of the global economic governance system， according to Lou Jiwei， Chinas Minister of Finance.

The AIIB will become operational after its board of directors and executive council meet for the first time. The meetings are slated to run from January 16 to 18 in Beijing， according to Lou. The banks president will then be officially appointed and the management team will be in place at the meetings.

The bank， headquartered in Beijing， now has 57 members.

China， India and Russia are AIIBs three largest shareholders， taking a 30.34-percent， 8.52-percent， 6.66-percent stake， respectively. Chinas voting share is calculated at 26.06 percent， Indias is 7.5 percent and Russias is 5.92 percent.

The bank will always be open to new membership， Jin Liqun， the banks president-designate， told Xinhua News Agency.

Vice Finance Minister Shi Yaobin told Xinhua that Chinas stake and voting share may become diluted after more members join the bank.

With an authorized capital of$100 billion， the AIIB will initially prioritize investment in energy， power generation， transportation， rural infrastructure， environmental protection and logistics. It is expected to offer loans to the first batch of projects by mid-2016.

TCM Receives FDA Approval

A staff member works on the assembly line of Lianhua Qingwen Capsule， a Chinese medicine for treating the flu， at Shijiazhuang Yiling Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. in north Chinas Hebei Province.

On December 24， 2015， the company announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary in the United States has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to conduct its second-phase clinical research on the capsule， making it the worlds first compound traditional Chinese medicine to win such regulatory approval.

IPO Reform

The highly anticipated reform of the initial public offering （IPO） system， which will be launched in March at the earliest according to the latest legal changes， is set to usher in a new era for Chinas stock market. On December 27， 2015， the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress， the countrys top legislature， authorized the State Council to adjust rules based on the securities law to allow the stock listing system to be changed from approvalbased to registration-based.

The changes will take effect on March 1， 2016 and expire in two years time， which means the reform measures will have to be finished by March 1， 2018.

The reform makes way for a fundamental switch in the regulatory method， and is not a simple delegation of power， the China Securities Regulatory Commission （CSRC）， the top securities regulator， said in a recent statement.

Under the current system， the issuing of new shares is subject to approval by the CSRC， which controls both the timing and pricing. The registration-based system will give the market a bigger say and help ease the difficulty of financing businesses.

Financing Platform

A new over-the-counter board was launched in Shanghai on December 28， 2015 for startups. The hi-tech channel will help new companies raise funds as part of a nationwide campaign to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation.

The Shanghai Equity Exchange， the citys over-the-counter board operator， said that it approved the launch on November 20， 2015. Since then， more than 50 enterprises have applied to get listed on what has also come to be known as the “technology and innovation”board.

Analysts said that the launch is part of the countrys efforts to build a multiple-layer capital market， which will aid the growth of small and medium-sized firms， and increase investment channels.

Yuan Clearing in UAE

The United Arab Emirates （UAE） has signed an agreement with China to set up a clearing hub for the Chinese yuan （renminbi）， UAE media reported on December 27， 2015.

The UAE clearing hub for the Chinese currency， which will satisfy growing needs among UAE-based firms and banks alike， will be the second in the Middle East following its counterpart set up in Qatar in April 2015.

According to report， the UAEs central bank said that the agreement was signed during a visit to China by Abu Dhabis Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan in December 2015.

No specific date was given for when the hub will be open for trading. The UAE—a major oil supplier—and China also renewed a 35-billion-yuan （$5.42-billion） currency swap deal during the visit.

The UAE was also included in the Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor scheme， gaining a quota of 55 billion yuan （$8.53 billion）.

Now， more than 4，000 Chinese firms run branches in the UAE， including the four largest Chinese commercial banks. Over 300，000 Chinese citizens reside in the Gulf state.

Duty-Free Shopping

Hainan， Chinas southernmost province， will raise the upper limit of its offshore shopping that is eligible for duty exemption， its Party chief said on December 28， 2015. This is the latest move to boost spending on the resort island.

Hainan allows non-locals to make duty-free purchases twice a year before taking flights to leave the island， each instance capped at 8，000 yuan （$1，232）. That amount is expected to double， said Luo Baoming， Secretary of the Hainan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China.

The island province will also promote online duty-free shopping while allowing those who leave the island by train to enjoy duty exemptions， Luo said. The Central Government gave Hainan permission to run a trial duty-free program in April 2011. Hainan has two duty-free shops， with one in the provincial capital of Haikou and the other， the worlds largest of that kind， in the resort city of Sanya.

Bringing Business Home

Jin Zujun， a rural resident in Feixi County， east Chinas Anhui Province， creates a guitar. Jin， once working at a guitar-making company in south Chinas Guangdong Province， has brought the techniques he learned back to his hometown and opened up a workshop there， producing 5，000 guitars each year.

P2P Regulation

Chinese authorities released a draft of new rules on December 28， 2015， which tightens the regulation of peer-to-peer （P2P） lending. The draft rules have been posted to solicit public feedback until January 27， 2016.

P2P lending， or lending done without a traditional financial intermediary such as a bank， has grown quickly in China in the past few years， as investors seek higher returns than bank deposits have to offer while small businesses find it easier to secure funds through P2P platforms.

The new rules will impose 12 restrictions on P2P platforms， prohibiting them from engaging in activities such as taking in savings deposits， pooling investorsmoney to fund their own projects， or providing any kind of guarantees for lenders.

P2P platforms should leave investors money in the custody of banking institutions， according to the new rules.

A total of 2，612 P2P platforms were in normal operation across the country as of the end of November 2015， brokering over 400 billion yuan （$61.6 billion） of loans in total. In addition， there were 1，000 non-performing P2P platforms， accounting for 30 percent of all P2P platforms.

P2P platforms typically offer yield rates above 10 percent for investors， while Chinas benchmark interest rate for one-year bank deposits currently stands at a mere 1.5 percent.

After the rules take effect， P2P platforms will have a grace period of 18 months to rectify their business in accordance with the new rules.

Made in Yiwu

A technician prepares an automobile engine to roll off the production line at Geely Groups plant in Yiwu， east Chinas Zhejiang Province， on December 28， 2015. It is the first automobile engine made in Yiwu， famous for being a consumer commodities shopping paradise.