YOUNG GRANDMASTER VOWS TO BEAT ALPHAGO

Ke Jie， the worlds top Go player， believes he is the one to beat artificial intelligence （AI） program AlphaGo， which was developed by Googles London-based AI subsidiary DeepMind. The AI program thrashed South Korean master Lee Se Dol in March.

“I believe I can beat it. Machines can be very strong in many aspects but still have loopholes in certain calculations，” said the 18-year-old， who has won three world titles. Ke， however， admits his chance of winning is dwindling fast as the Go-playing system self-improves at a stunning pace.

DeepMinds CEO Demis Hassabis has reportedly expressed his willingness to invite Ke as AlphaGos next opponent. Ke， currently number one in the world in Go ratings， defeated Lee at the Mlily Cup World Go Open Tournament in January. He also won the Bailing Cup and the Samsung Cup in January and December 2015 respectively.

More New-Energy Buses in Service

Guangzhou Daily March 16

New-energy vehicles will be prioritized in public transportation over the next five years， according to Liu Xiaoming， Director of the Transport Service Department of the Ministry of Transport， at a press conference on March 14. At present， more than 50，000 electricity-powered buses are being used across China.

Chinas auto market has boomed over the past 30 years or so； however， vehicles powered by petroleum have put a big strain on energy supplies， with Chinas oil imports increasing each year. At the same time， the increasingly hazardous smog in cities across the country calls for the replacement of fossil fuel-powered automobiles with new-energy ones.

China has attached great importance to the development of technologies involved in producing new-energy vehicles and the promotion of such products. According to an action plan unveiled by the Ministry of Transport last year， new-energy buses used for public transportation should reach 200，000 by 2020. Additionally， the government will actively promote the use of vehicles powered by liquefied or compressed natural gas as well as hybrid buses.

The Ministry of Transport has made the right decision by promoting new-energy buses in public transportation. The short endurance mileage of these vehicles is suitable for fixedroute service within a city. Furthermore， the application of electric buses will prompt local governments to step up construction of charging facilities for them. They will also serve to promote new-energy vehicles to the public and thereby increase their popularity.

China Undergoing a Critical Test

Outlook Weekly March 14

China overtook Japan to become the second largest economy in the world in terms of nominal GDP in 2009. However， its percapita income still lags far behind developed countries and has yet to circumvent the“middle-income trap.” Development remains the primary pursuit of the country.

When China became the second largest economy， some Western observers were worried that China would accumulate wealth by colonizing weaker countries and grabbing their resources， labor force and market like previous powers had done.

However， rather than seeking hegemony， China has promoted peace and development in the world and shouldered responsibilities proportionate to a big country. It has been committed to building a new type of major-country relations featuring mutually beneficial cooperation. Domestically， China has pursued a socialist path with Chinese characteristics that suits the countrys national conditions.

As Chinas economic growth slows down， the country is faced with the tasks of carrying out structural reform and changing growth engines. Additionally， the country has to fulfill the goal of lifting all impoverished people out of poverty in five years.

Whether China can overcome the current challenges facing its modernization drive depends on how well the Central Governments policy for promoting innovative， coordinated， green， open and shared development is implemented at all levels of government.

Crackdown on Fakes Online

Legal Daily March 17

Online shopping has experienced a boom in China in recent years. According to statistics from the Ministry of Commerce， the sales volume of Internet-based Chinese retailers reached 4 trillion yuan（$616 billion） last year， ranking top worldwide. However， problems such as fake and shoddy products， price scams and poor after-sales services have seriously hindered the development of the ecommerce industry.

Take east Chinas Zhejiang Province for example. According to the provinces consumer market watchdog agency， 62，000 complaints regarding online shopping were filed last year， increasing 148 percent year on year and accounting for 34.5 percent of the provinces consumer complaints.

An increasing number of e-commerce businesses have already realized the seriousness of the problem and invested huge amount of manpower and money in cracking down on fakes. For instance， Alibaba Group， which operates Chinas largest online business-to-consumer and consumerto-consumer marketplaces， has formed a strict spot-check system for products sold on its websites. It has also provided useful clues to law enforcement departments through big data analysis.

In addition， government at all levels should strengthen supervision over online retailers. On the one hand， they should learn more about the Internet so as to improve efficiency in fighting fakes online； on the other hand， they should enhance cooperation with e-commerce companies and support the latter in their self-rectification endeavors.

Laws should also be improved. As a result， more severe punishment will be imposed upon wrongdoers who produce or sell counterfeits， in order to deter others from committing similar offences.

MOTHER WITH GREEN FINGERS

Yi Jiefang， 67， has planted more than 2 million trees on the sandy land of north Chinas Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region over the past 10-plus years.

Yi， a Shanghai native， said she did this to fulfill her sons will. The young man， Yang Ruizhe， died in a road accident in 2000. Just two weeks before he died， Yang told his parents he was ready to plant trees in Inner Mongolia after graduation because sandstorms were causing too much damage in China.

After Yangs death， Yi resigned from her job and set up the nonprofit organization Green Life to plant trees in Inner Mongolia. She sold her apartment in Shanghai and spent most of her sons compensation funds to lease land and hire more than 300 local farmers to work with her. After a decade of hard work， Yi and her team have turned a desert into a forest.

“China and Cuba have long enjoyed friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation. We will deepen our relations with Cuba， and this does not target or affect any third party.”

Hua Chunying， Foreign Ministry spokesperson commenting on U.S. President Barack Obamas visit to Cuba and the implications of improved U.S.-Cuba ties for China at a press briefing on March 21

“China is in the midst of a historic transition， which will transform its economy and deliver economic and environmental sustainability. This transition is good for China and good for the world.”

Christine Lagarde， IMF Managing Director， at the China Development Forum 2016 in Beijing on March 20

“Although we are not the first Asian nation to send a probe to Mars， we want to start at a higher level. We have less than five years till the launch， but we are confident.”

Ye Peijian， an aerospace expert with the China Academy of Space Technology， unveiling Chinas Mars exploration plan in a recent interview

“The scandal has revealed problems in the distribution of vaccines. The China Food and Drug Administration （CFDA） is working with the Ministry of Public Security and the National Health and Family Planning Commission to thoroughly investigate it and ensure the safety of vaccines.”

Wu Zhen， deputy head of the CFDA， in response to a recently uncovered scandal in which improperly stored or expired vaccines have been allegedly sold across China， on March 23