MARTIAN MISSION

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MARTIAN MISSION

Pictures released on August 23 show China's future Mars probe， rover and lander.

China plans to send a spacecraft to orbit Mars in July or August 2020. The lander will separate from the orbiter and touch down in a low latitude area in the northern hemisphere of the Red Planet. The rover will then be deployed to explore its surface.

Drill at Sea

Rescue vessels and a helicopter take part in an emergency rescue drill held at the sea area near Fenghuang Island in Sanya， south China's Hainan Province， on August 23.

The drill aimed at enhancing emergency response skills of maritime rescue teams.

Housing for Poverty

Poverty-stricken regions have ramped up efforts to start housing construction and relocate poor people to more prosperous areas，according to the country's top economic planner.

Local authorities in 22 provinces and autonomous regions have spent 58 billion yuan （$8.8 billion） on relocation projects， with construction underway on over 10，000 of them， the National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC）revealed.

China plans to relocate 2.49 million impoverished people in 2016. So far， 718 projects have been completed and 226，000 people have moved， the NDRC said.

Despite decades of growth，there were still 70 million people living below the poverty line last year， many in harsh conditions without easy access to roads， water or power.

Eliminating rural poverty is the most diffcult challenge in building a moderately prosperous society， a task the government aims to complete by 2020.

Development Level

China joined the group of countries with a high level of human

development， according to a report released by the UN Development Program （UNDP） on August 22.

The China National Human Development Report 2016， which was initiated two years ago， shows that of the 47 countries classifed as having a low level of human development in 1990， China is the only one that has now achieved a high level.

China's Human Development Index （HDI） reached 0.727 in 2014，ranking 90th among 188 countries and regions， the report said.

The report， which measures social and economic development since the HDI was adopted by the UNDP in 1990， is based upon three indicators: income， health and education.

According to the report， the contribution of China's economic growth to its HDI growth was 56.3 percent， with that proportion reaching a peak of 65.5 during the 1980s.

The report， jointly compiled by the UNDP and the Development Research Center of the State Council of China， also attributes China's achievement to social policy， including a number of measures principally targeted at poverty reduction.

Forum of Two Cities

An annual city forum between Shanghai and Taipei kicked off in Taipei on August 23.

Sha Hailin， a representative of Shanghai Mayor Yang Xiong， was present at the annual event， which has been hosted by the two cities in rotation since 2010.

The 2016 forum focuses on exchanges in felds such as health care，smart cities， culture and transportation in a bid to deepen cooperation in various aspects between the two cities.

Sha attended the opening

ceremony of a fve-day sports event involving 149 students and teachers from Shanghai in a Taipei high

school and visited a local hospital on August 22 as part of the two cities' exchange activities after he arrived on August 22.

Green Zones

China will establish several national ecological experimental zones to explore reforms ranging from natural resource balance sheets to ecological performance evaluation of offcials， according to an offcial guideline published on August 22.

The guideline， released by the general offces of the Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Committee and the State Council，aims at carrying out reforms on the“ecological civilization system.”

According to targets set in the guideline， major progressshall be achieved by 2017， and a fully-fedged ecological civilization system shall be established by 2020， with the best practices replicated across the country.

Main experiments will include establishing a natural resource property rights system， compiling natural resource balance sheets， optimizing land and space planning， and incorporating ecological performance into offcials' evaluation.

Fujian， Jiangxi and Guizhou provinces， which have “relatively

optimal ecological foundations and relatively strong environmental and resource capacity，” were selected as the frst batch of experimental zones.

Organ Repair Molecule

Scientists have discovered a small molecule that can regenerate tissue，which in the future could make tissue regeneration much easier for many.

The research was led by professors Zhou Dawang and Deng Xianming of the School of Life Sciences， Xiamen University， and professor Yun Caihong of Peking University.

The fndings were published in the latest edition of Science Translational Medicine on August 17.

Zhou said that they have discovered a drug， XMU-MP-1， which can promote repair and regeneration in the liver， intestines and skin.

In the future， the pills may do away the need for organ transplants and complex biomaterial and cell therapies， he said.

Social Organization

China will boost roles of social organizations in promoting economic development， governing social affairs and providing public services，according to an offcial guideline published on August 21.

Aimed at reforming the management system of social organizations so as to promote their healthy and orderly development，the guideline requires governments at all levels to carry out the reform with full awareness of its strategic importance and urgency， as the healthy and orderly development of social organizations helps improve the socialist market economy and unleash social vitality.

Great efforts and resources will be invested in cultivating community-based social organizations.

Thresholds will be lowered for such organizations that dedicate themselves to community services，old-age care， charity， sports and entertainment， agricultural technology， among other felds， with registration procedures simplifed for the qualifed ones.

There will be greater support to social organizations coming from government procurement of services， project funds and subsidies. Organizations that offer services to the elderly， women， children， the disabled， unemployed， migrant workers， the mentally challenged，and misbehaving juveniles will be supported by the government.

Governments are obliged to retreat from felds involving certain petty administrative affairs and public services which would be better taken care of by the market and society. The scope of services that governments procure from social organizations will be expanded， according to the guideline.

The guideline also stipulates favorable fscal and taxation policies to social organizations，scrupulous registration procedures as well as fund oversight.

Social organizations will be guided to participate in international exchanges in an orderly manner and join non-governmental international organizations， the guideline says.

Tiger Cubs

Twin cubs of the endangered South China Tiger species relax at the Nanchang Zoo in Nanchang， capital of South China's Jiangxi Province， on August 22.

The newly born twin cubs of South China Tiger have survived through the observation period.

Special Stamp

China Post issues a special stamp set for the G20 Summit on August 27 to mark the upcoming event in Hangzhou.

The G20 Summit will be held in the capital city of eastern Zhejiang Province on September 4-5.

Green App

Chinese ride hailing and sharing company Didi Chuxing was selected for Fortune magazine's 2016 Change the World list， shortly after the acquisition of Uber China that cemented Didi's leading position in China's transportation services market.

As the only Chinese mainland company on the U.S. magazine's annual list， Didi Chuxing， valued at $35 billion， ranked 30th mainly for its contribution to the environment.

Published on August 20，F(xiàn)ortune's list highlighted Didi's positive impact on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Last year， car-pooling services facilitated by Didi helped reduce total car trips in China by 1 million per day， saving 500 million liters of fuel and cutting daily carbon emissions by 13.5 million tons， the list said.

“That's not the only way in which Didi is a pollution-buster，” the article said. “Its taxi service reduces the time drivers aimlessly cruise around across 400 cities； its bus service coordinates long-haul private buses for commuters， and car-pooling reduces congestion.”

SOE Merger

Two state-owned building materials providers have started merger preparations in the latest consolidation of China's state-owned enterprises（SOEs）.

The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council（SASAC） on August 22 announced the reorganization of the China National Building Materials Group Corp. （CNBM） and China National Materials Group Corp. Ltd. （SINOMA）in an online statement. The commission did not provide further details on the merger.

CNBM is the world's major nonmetal materials manufacturer and cement equipment and engineering service provider， with total assets worth over 430 billion yuan （$64.51 billion）.

SINOMA is also an industry leader in the non-metal materials sector.

China has started accelerating the reorganization of its SOEs to improve their competitiveness. A merger of two tourism companies was announced in early August.

There are currently more than 100 SOEs directly administered by the Central Government， while many more are under the administration of local authorities.

Lucrative Business

A worker operates a weaving machine in Ruzhou， central China's Henan Province， on August 23.

The city is actively developing the textile industry to create jobs. A total of 2，200 production lines are expected to be built as of the end of this year， creating 14，000 jobs.

Reviving the Northeast

A total of 127 projects will be carried out in northeast China over the next three years to bolster the region's fagging economy， according to an implementation plan issued by the National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC）.

The 127 projects involve sectors including transportation， energy and agriculture as well as water conservation and urban and rural development， according to the plan.

More efforts will be made to improve local government management systems， intensify SOE reforms and promote the development of the private economy from 2016-18.

The northeast should accelerate the reform of traditional industries and the development of emerging industries to improve the region's economic structure. Emphasis should be put on attracting talent， encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship，and creating an innovative environment， read the plan.

The plan also stressed that great efforts will be made to improve local people's livelihoods， generate more jobs， speed up the transformation of shanty towns， old industrial zones and mines， and increase fscal transfer payments to resource-exhausted cities.

Cutting Corporate Costs

The Chinese Government has come up with a new set of policies in an attempt to reduce corporate costs.

On August 22， the State Council released details of departmental tasks to improve the business environment.

Concrete targets have been set on reducing costs across the board in taxation， fnancing， labor， energy and logistics.

Taxes will be reduced by more than 500 billion yuan （$75 billion）each year， as business tax is replaced with value-added tax.

Busy as Bees

A farmer carries grapes in Dongxiaguan Village， Xingtai， north China's Hebei Province， on August 23.

Employee Stock Ownership

China is taking another step in reforming its SOEs with its decision to pilot an employee stock ownership plan in some state-holding enterprises， the SASAC announced on August 18.

Qualifed employees of selected SOEs in industries that are fully open to competition will be able to buy company stocks， according to the guidelines released by the SASAC.

The initiative aims to incentivize employees， as equity-holders， to work harder to improve company competitiveness.

Compared with other incentive programs， the employee stock ownership plan can prevent state asset losses while stimulating productivity，especially in sectors heavily reliant on knowledge and technology，according to Xiang Anbo， a researcher with the Development Research Center of the State Council.

The pilot program will not be introduced in large SOEs， as most of them are in strategic sectors such as resources， making it too complicated to implement， said Bai Yingzi， a senior offcial with the SASAC.

Bai pointed out that ownership interest will only be open to competent and outstanding employees，and government-appointed senior management will not be eligible.

The guidelines also stipulate requirements for the pilot enterprises regarding various aspects of the scheme， including stakeholding and stake transfers. If the program works well， it will be expanded in late 2018 to invigorate the SOE sector.

Xiaomi Eyeing U.S.

In the near future， consumers in the United States will have a chance to use Xiaomi smartphones， a Chinese homegrown brand.

Xiaomi is going to launch a new product in the United States， said Xiaomi's vice president Hugo Barra，without giving a specifc date.

Founded in 2010， Xiaomi has become one of the world's most valuable technology start-ups due to its rapid expansion of market share not only in China but also overseas， especially in India and Brazil， in recent years.

According to a survey conducted by Kantar Worldpanel，an international industry survey company， Xiaomi accounted for 18.5 percent of smartphone sales in urban China in the second quarter of this year， surpassing Apple's 17.9 percent.

Lei Jun， Xiaomi's founder and CEO， ranked 22nd on Forbes' 2016 100 Richest In Tech list.

In June， the Beijing-based company acquired nearly 1，500 technology patents from Microsoft Corp.， a deal seen by many observers as a way to put the smartphone vendor in a better position to compete on Apple's home turf.

Bolstering Growth

China is pushing forward a raft of national projects to boost the economy and underpin growth for several years， said the NDRC on August 23.

Hu Zucai， Vice Minister of the NDRC， promised reduced red tape and more policy support in land， capital and human resources.

China's top legislature approved 165 major projects early this year，covering technological innovation，industrial upgrades， infrastructure construction， environmental protection and improving people's living conditions.

These projects， which will be implemented over a fve-year period starting in 2016， include a poverty relief program covering 55.75 million rural residents and the world's frst quantum communication satellite.

Although no specifc fgures on total investment were unveiled，the program will likely attract the equivalent of trillions of U.S. dollars，with private investment playing an important role.

“The government welcomes the participation of private investors，” Hu said. New models such as public-private partnerships will be encouraged for better operations， while policy barriers will be removed and easier market access will be granted.

He said that the projects will bring opportunities for lackluster private investment to regain momentum.

Tapping Into the Sea

Aerial view of an aquaculture zone in Yantai， east China's Shandong Province，on August 22.

Yantai， known for abundant seafood， has produced 663，000 tons of aquatic products so far this year， with a total output of 10.64 billion yuan （$1.6 billion）， up 8 percent compared to the same period last year， according to local offcial data.

UNThe UN Security Council holds an open debate on non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction at UN headquarters in New York City on August 23. China's permanent representative to the UN， Liu Jieyi， called for preventing moves that may intensify regional issues

UNITED STATESOn August 22， residents throw away furniture damaged in floods in Baton Rouge， Louisiana. Severe flooding caused by heavy rain took at least 13 lives

INDONESIAMembers of rescue teams search for missing passengers in waters around Tanjung Pinang on August 21， after a boat carrying 17 people sank in the area the same day， leaving 10 people dead， two wounded and five others missing

ITALYRescue crews look for survivors from the 6.2-magnitude earthquake that leveled three towns in central Italy on August 24

GERMANYA Brandenburg Gate-shaped hot-air balloon rises into the air in the municipality of Bad Sassendorf on August 18

YEMENTens of thousands of people rally in Sana'a on August 20 to show support for the Ansar Allah movement and former president Ali Abdullah Saleh