BASKETBALL PLAYER EYING THE NBA

Up-and-coming basketball star Zhou Qi announced on April 15 that he will take part in the NBA draft in June.

If Zhou is picked， he would become the sixth Chinese to ever become an NBA player. The NBA has been without a Chinese player since 2014 when Yi Jianlian returned following a mediocre spell in the league.

Zhou， 20， is 2.17 meters tall. He took part in the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon， South Korea for the Chinese national team. He also participated in the 2015 International Basketball Federation Asia Championship in Changsha， central Hunan Province， helping lead China to a close 76-73 victory over South Korea.

Chinese basketball fans are enthusiastic about Zhou going to the NBA， while his Xinjiang team seems reluctant to let him go， saying the time is not right.

A More Prudent Approach to Destocking

Beijing Youth Daily April 15

At the end of last year， the Central Government put destocking the real estate market at the top of Chinas economic agenda this year. In recent months， central and local government departments have come up with policies， such as lowering the proportion of down payments， to encourage the purchase of properties. However， although these measures have worked in first- and second-tier cities， where real estate market demand has experienced a rebound， they are ineffective in third- and fourth-tier cities， where inventory levels remain high.

The difficulty in destocking in third- and fourth-tier cities lies in their inability to draw people， resulting from weak industrial foundations. First-tier cities attract a large number of people owing to more employment opportunities， higher incomes and better public services.

Therefore， destocking in third- and fourth-tier cities is not only about selling properties， but increasing employment opportunities by developing the local economy， in order to attract more people and investment. Meanwhile， household registration reform should be accelerated to give migrant workers and their children wider access to urban public services such as healthcare and education.

If local governments seek to resolve the high inventory levels of the housing market through only administrative and fiscal measures， the problems will not only fail to be solved， but new risks will ensue. Destocking， which depends on the all-round and balanced development of cities， is not a task that can be achieved overnight.

Solving Parking Problems

Oriental Outlook April 14

A serious lack of parking lots has become a headache for many Chinese cities. As a result of the rapidly growing number of cars and the lagging construction of parking lots， there was a lack of over 50 million parking spaces in 2015. The lack of parking lots has led to high-priced spaces.

Its paradoxical that on the one hand， over 2 million cars have no permanent space to park in four first-tier cities—Beijing， Shanghai， Guangzhou and Shenzhen. On the other hand， nearly half of parking lots are not optimally used. Many for-profit parking lots are unoccupied all the time.

In order to address the problem， several Central Government departments， including the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development， issued policies on stepping up urban parking infrastructure construction last year.

Making the most of existing parking lots is also crucial. There are successful examples of office and apartment buildings sharing parking lots in Shanghai. In addition， parking apps that connect park-ing lot operators with customers through which customers can check empty parking lots and pay parking fees， are thriving.

However， as they are currently supervised by a dozen government departments， the latters responsibilities are often unclear and overlapping. Therefore， responsibilities should be clearly allocated among those departments to make the management of parking lots more efficient.

Better Services for City Marathons

Economic Daily April 18

Marathons have become increasingly popular in cities across China in recent years and many have hosted such events.

Mayors wish to improve their cities image and promote tourism through marathons. Nevertheless， there has been criticism of host cities after almost every event. For instance， during the marathon held in Wuhan， central Chinas Hubei Province， on April 10， more than 3，000 out of 20，000 participants received medical treatment during the run. Hospital staff stationed along the route had to buy medicine in nearby drug stores， owing to an inadequate amount of medical supplies.

A marathon is not simply a sports event but a comprehensive and extensive test of a citys public service abilities. The planning of the route for the contest， management of transportation during the event， and services provided for athletes all test local governance. For instance， can host cities avoid traffic congestion caused by certain roads being blocked off during the run？

In spite of being an international and fashionable event， a marathon alone is inadequate to promote local tourism. It should be combined with local culture and history in order to attract tourists and improve a citys image.

ROCKET SCIENTIST PASSES AWAY

Rocket scientist Liang Sili died at the age of 91 in Beijing on April 14. Liang， born in August 1924， was a renowned missile and rocket control expert.

Liang led the development and testing of several types of launch vehicle control systems. He was a member of both the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the International Academy of Astronautics.

President Xi Jinping offered condolences to Liangs family. “He made important contributions to Chinas aerospace cause，” Xi said. “His patriotism， dedication and rigorous scholarship deserve our respect.”

Liang graduated from Purdue University in the United States in 1945 and received a PhD degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1949. He then returned to China where he pursued a decades-long research career that helped lay the foundation for the development of the countrys space program.

“For well-meant criticisms raised on the Internet， we will not only welcome them， but also carefully study them for future references.”

President Xi Jinping， in his speech at a symposium on cyberspace security and information in Beijing on April 19

“Since the 1980s， China has made great strides toward rapid economic growth and globalization. Its amazing what China has achieved in such a short period， and the journey is far from over.”

John Cryan， Deutsche Bank Co-CEO， commenting on Chinas economy in a recent interview

“I hope I can not only help win more championships but continue to bring positive energy and love.”

Stephon Marbury， former NBA star who currently plays for Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association （CBA）， twittering on his Sina Weibo account on April 18 after becoming the first foreigner to get a Chinese permanent residence card in CBA history

“Techniques such as thermal protection during re-entry， posture control and soft landing for recovery are exclusive to China and very few other countries.”

Tang Bochang， general designer of the SJ-10 mission， commenting on the return of the re-entry capsule of Chinas first retrievable microgravity satellite on April 18， 12 days after its launch