News

6th Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee Concluded

October 27， Beijing： Chinese President Xi Jinping， also general secretary of the Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Committee， speaks at the 6th plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee， which was held in Beijing from October 24 to 27. The meeting approved two documents on the discipline of the CPC， including the norms of political life within the Party under the new situation and a regulation on intra-Party supervision.

The Party has called on all its members to “closely unite around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core，” a call to action that many observers believe will give the country the impetus to realize its two centenary goals. Party members were told to resolutely safeguard the authority of the CPC Central Committee and its central， unified leadership while pushing forward the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party.

Space Mission

October 17， Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center： Chinese astronauts Jing Haipeng （right） and Chen Dong wave during the departure ceremony for the Shenzhou-11 manned space mission. The two Chinese astronauts boarded the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft on early October 17 for the mission， with 49-year-old Jing as the commander. The spacecraft is scheduled to dock at the orbiting spacelab Tiangong-2 within two days， and the astronauts are to stay in the spacelab for 30 days before returning to Earth.

The mission marks Jing’s third space trip following his Shenzhou-7 mission in 2008 and Shenzhou-9 mission in 2012. It is 37-year-old Chen’s first trip as crew on a manned spacecraft. With an impressively safe flight record of 1，500 hours as an air force pilot， Chen was selected as crew for the Shenzhou-11 mission in June 2016.

Commemorating the Long March

A visitor at a painting and calligraphy exhibition commemorating the Long March. October 22 marked the 80th anniversary of the end of the Long March， and China hopes to pass on the epic expedition’s legacy across generations through various commemorative activities across the country.

Eighty years ago， the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army arrived at their destination in northern Shaanxi Province after a journey of 12，500 kilometers. The military maneuver organized by the army under the CPC from October 1934 to October 1936 would come to be known as the Long March. As China commemorates the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Long March， the epic trek still resonates with ordinary Chinese people， who acknowledge the CPC’s efforts， determination and sacrifices during an era of intense hardship.

Holiday Spending Spree

October 3， Nanjing City， Jiangsu Province： Tourists visit the Mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Domestic consumers have explicitly demonstrated rising power as a key force driving the Chinese economy by travelling and spending heavily during the weeklong National Day holiday that began on October 1.

According to the China National Tourism Administration， nearly 600 million people visited tourist attractions around the country and spent about US$74.97 billion during the holiday， up 12.8 percent and 14.4 percent year-on-year respectively. Double-digit consumption growth is nothing unusual in this country， but it is remarkable considering that the world’s second largest economy’s growth slowed to 6.7 percent in the first half of this year， amid huge international uncertainty. Because of such strong consumption growth momentum and potential， some economists have even called for the Chinese government to introduce more weeklong holidays.