Exploring the Deep Blue

Deep-sea exploration ship Zhang Jian sets sail on July 12 from Shanghai to engage in scientific research in the South Pacific Ocean.

During the two-month voyage， scientists will test the navigation abilities of the ship and its equipment in waters off the coast of Papua New Guinea.

Urban Jobless Rate

The registered unemployment rate in Chinese cities stood at 4.05 percent at the end of June， slightly up from 4.04 percent at the end of March， latest data showed.

China created 7.17 million new jobs in the first half of 2016， down by about only 10，000 from the same period of last year， according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

The government aims to create 10 million new jobs this year. The new data shows that 71.7 percent of the task was completed in the first six months.

The registered unemployment rate is calculated based on the number of unemployed people who register with human resource authorities or employment service institutions.

Water on the Rise

Groundwater in and around the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is on the rise thanks to increased runoff from glaciers， precipitation， and administrative actions to restore groundwater， according to a report by Chinese and Swedish researchers.

Groundwater has risen in the Jinsha River basin， NujiangLancangjiang rivers source region， the Yangtze River source region， Yellow River source region， Qaidam Basin and the Qiangtang Nature Reserve， said the report， published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

Scientists with the Chinese Academy of Sciences （CAS）， Swedish Land Survey Authority， and the University of Hong Kongs Department of Earth Sciences used satellites to monitor changes in groundwater storage in the plateau and its surroundings from 2003 to 2009.

“Understanding the changes in groundwater is key to the use and control of water resources in the plateau，” said Wang Hansheng， a researcher with the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics under the CAS.

The government could use the research findings to plan farming， herding， engineering projects， prevent geological disasters and explore geothermal resources， Wang said.

New on the List

The 40th session of the World Heritage Committee opens on July 11 in Istanbul， Turkey.

Hubei Shennongjia and Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art Cultural Landscape from China have been nominated as world heritage sites and will be examined among a total of 29 sites from the world.

Population Issue

Representatives of Beijing residents unveil a series of activities for the World Population Day on July 11.

World Population Day， which falls on July 11 every year， was established by the Governing Council of the UN Development Programme in 1989. The theme of this year is “Investing in Young People.”

Traffic Law

Chinas top legislature will start a nationwide inspection on the enforcement of the Road Traffic Safety Law.

Four teams of senior lawmakers will be dispatched to eight of the countrys provincial-level regions in August and September， including Beijing as well as Zhejiang， Jiangxi and Shandong provinces， according to a statement from the National Peoples Congress （NPC） Standing Committee on July 12.

The NPC Standing Committee gave the remaining 23 provincial legislatures permission to manage their own inspections.

Fatal road accidents are a serious problem in China， as the highway network and the number of new drivers and vehicles expand rapidly and traffic laws are regularly flouted.

The average annual increase of new vehicles and drivers hit 15 million and 20 million since the Road Traffic Safety Law went into effect 12 years ago. Meanwhile， the number of road deaths accounts for more than 80 percent of fatalities in all kinds of accidents.

Road safety not only concerns peoples lives and property， but also economic and social development， said Wang Shengjun， Vice Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee.

The inspection teams will produce a report on the implementation of the law and submit it to the NPC Standing Committee in December.

Price Indexes

Chinas consumer price index （CPI）， a main gauge of inflation， grew 1.9 percent year on year in June， the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） announced on July 10.

The June data slowed from a 2-percent growth registered in May and dropped for the second consecutive month from 2.3 percent in April.

The CPI grew 2.1 percent in the first half of 2016， while the annual target was set around 3 percent.

NBS statistician Yu Qiumei attributed the moderate inflation mostly to eased food prices， which increased 4.6 percent year on year in June， slowing from 5.9 percent in May.

Since January， CPI has been calculated using a new comparison base and included more products and services and slightly reduced the weight of food.

Chinas producer price index（PPI）， which measures costs for goods at the factory gate， slid 2.6 percent year on year in June.

The PPI decline narrowed from a 2.8-percent decrease in May， with industrial product prices slightly rebounding for the past six months consecutively on an annual basis.

However， the June reading still marked the 52nd straight month of decline as Chinas economic slowdown and industrial overcapacity weighed on prices.

The PPI dropped 3.9 percent year on year in the first half of 2016.

Although the condition of the commodity prices continued to improve， industrial product prices are unlikely to recover substantially as domestic demand remained weak， said HSBC chief China economist Qu Hongbin.

Foreign Trade

Chinas foreign trade in yuandenominated terms went down 3.3 percent year on year in the first half of this year to 11.13 trillion yuan （$1.66 trillion）， with exports down 2.1 percent and imports down 4.7 percent， data from the General Administration of Customs （GAC） showed on July 13. GAC spokesman Huang Songping said that according to some leading indicators， Chinas exports may face “relatively big downward pressure” in the third quarter as global demand looks set to remain sluggish.

In the first half of the year， exports to the EU， Chinas largest trading partner， went up 1.3 percent， while exports to the United States and ASEAN—its second and third largest trading partners—dropped 4.6 percent and 2.9 percent， respectively.

However， exports to countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road were on the increase during the same period. Chinas exports to Pakistan， Russia， Bangladesh， India and Egypt climbed 22.5 percent， 16.6 percent， 9 percent， 7.8 percent and 4.7 percent， respectively.

Private enterprises still maintained the first position in terms of exports. In the first half of the year， privately owned companies registered 4.31 trillion yuan （$645 billion） in imports and exports， up 5.1 percent year on year， accounting for 38.7 percent of the countrys total foreign trade volume.

Beyond all that， Chinas exports in yuan-denominated terms rose 1.3 percent year on year in June， while imports went down 2.3 percent.

New Energy Expanded

Solar panels operate on mountains in Qinglong County， north Chinas Hebei Province， on July 11.

The Hebei Provincial Government has been committed to pushing forward the development of clean energy. By the end of June 30， the installed capacity of the new energy generation in the northern part of Hebei had reached 11.26 million kw.

Foreign Investment

Foreign direct investment （FDI） into the Chinese mainland rose 9.7 percent year on year to $15.23 billion in June， the Ministry of Commerce（MOFCOM） said on July 12.

This figure came against a 1-percent decline registered in May.

In the first half of 2016， FDI， which excludes investment in the financial sector， rose 5.1 percent year on year to $69.42 billion， with the growth rate accelerating from 3.8 percent registered in the first five months， according to the MOFCOM.

The service sector attracted $48.94 billion worth of FDI from January through June， 8 percent more than in the same period of last year and representing 70.4 percent of the total.FDI into the manufacturing sector declined 2.8 percent during the same period to $19.53 billion， accounting for 28.3 percent of the total.

Among Chinas major investors， FDI from the United States soared 136 percent year on year in the first half， while that from Britain and Germany rose 105.3 percent and 90.3 percent， respectively.

Chinese Planes in Demand

The first China-made regional passenger jet， the ARJ21-700， received 90 new orders at Britains Farnborough International Airshow， the Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China （COMAC） said on July 12.

China Aircraft Leasing Ltd. has signed to acquire 60 ARJ21 aircraft for around $2.3 billion. This is the largest order of the aircraft since it started commercial operations on June 28. One of the leasing firms investors， Friedmann Pacific Asset， will invest in an Indonesian-based airline and help build up its ARJ21 fleet.

Meanwhile， the Aviation Industry Corp. of China Leasing Co.， or AVIC Leasing， signed a purchase agreement for 30 ARJ21 aircraft with COMAC at the air show， which ended on July 10.

The 90-seat regional jet has received around 400 orders.

COMAC attended the air show for the fourth time this year to present the development progress of the ARJ21 and the China-made singleaisle C919.

China-Russia Expo

Visitors are at the booth of Chinas Yingkou Port at the Third China-Russia Exposition in Yekaterinburg， Russia， on July 11.

The five-day expo， opened that day， showcased products， technology and projects in sectors such as equipment manufacturing， agriculture， forestry， finance and tourism. The annual event was held in Russia for the first time.

Theater Acquisition

AMC Entertainment， a U.S. chain owned by Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group， announced on July 12 that it has entered into a defini- tive agreement to acquire leading European cinema operator Odeon & UCI Cinema Group.

The deal is valued at approximately 921 million pounds （$1.2 billion）. Odeon & UCI is currently owned by private equity firm Terra Firma， and had 243 cinemas and 2，238 screens as of December 2015.

Odeon & UCI operates in four major markets： Britain， Spain， Italy and Germany， as well as three smaller markets： Austria， Portugal and Ireland.

AMC said that the combination of AMC and Odeon & UCI will result in AMCs operation of 627 theaters and more than 7，600 screens in eight countries.

Green Electricity

Northeast Chinese provinces should rebalance their demand and supply of power， better managing the wind power supply and cutting air pollution by 2020， Chinas energy regulator announced on July 11.

The northeastern region has been generating too much power in recent years which has seriously contributed to pollution， a statement from the National Energy Administration （NEA） pointed out.

The NEA urged the region to cancel or postpone coal-fired power generation projects with a joint capacity of over 7.5 million kw. Areas with an energy waste rate higher than 20 percent should stop new projects.

An 800-kw direct current power transmission project will be completed in 2017 to send the regions power to other parts of the country， according to the statement.

The NEA encouraged the region to use electricity to replace coal and oil to provide heat and in industrial or agricultural production.

Light， But Strong

Visitors look at an aircraft made of aluminum during the Aluminum China 2016 Exhibition at the Shanghai New International Expo Center on July 12.

The expo kicked off that day， attracting more than 400 enterprises in aluminum industry from over 30 countries and regions.