Planned Technological Transformation of Agri cultural Sector Fails to Im press Farmers

China is counting on the booming e-commerce sector to transform the agricultural industry， but the plan has failed to generate much excitement among experts and farmers. The Ministry of Agriculture recently announced an ambitious plan to increase online sales of agricultural produce by an average annual rate of about 40% to 800 billion yuan（$116 billion） by 2020. Last year， agricultural produce worth 150 billion yuan was traded online. To achieve the goal， the government will “promote the use of big data， internet of things， cloud computing， mobile internet and other types of new-generation information technology”throughout the agriculture sector， including the use of production， management， processing and logistics， the Agriculture Ministry recently said in a statement on its website. Shoppers are now flocking online for products as diverse as clothing， health-care products， household appliances and tech gadgets. The potential of the online market has drawn a growing class of young tech-savvy farmers who， unlike their parents who worked small plots without access to market information， are trying to improve their livelihoods using technology. The government also has high hopes that the online shopping industry will increase farmersincomes and modernize the agricultural sector. The average annual wage for a farmer was 11，000 yuan last year， according to the Agriculture Ministry. Recent central and local government measures include doling out subsidies to farmers to open online stores， training farmers to use computers and cellphones， and seeking help from big companies such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. However， limited distribution networks and fierce competition between big corporate players and small sellers may hinder the governments plan. Its not clear how the ministry will support the industry to achieve its goal in the next four years. As bigger players enter the market， many small-farmer vendors will soon be pushed out of the industry if they dont have government support.

Shanghai， Tianjin Tighten Home-Purchase Rules

Two of Chinas biggest cities have tightened mortgage rules in a bid to rein in escalating property prices and keep banking risks in check as new loans to home buyers soar. Home prices in some big cities have risen rapidly this year as mortgage values have surged， stoking worries of growing bubbles in the real estate market and fears that credit support for other parts of the economy might be affected. Authorities in Shanghai， the countrys commercial hub， announced that they will raise down payments for first-time buyers to 35% from 30%， according to a statement on the website of the citys housing and urban-rural development commission. In addition， the policy tightened the definition of first-time buyer to exclude those who had previously taken out a mortgage， even if the property had been paid off and sold. In the past， a person was deemed a first-time buyer as long as they didnt own a property in Shanghai， even if they had owned a property in the city but had sold it and cleared the mortgage. The northern port city of Tianjin also announced rules to increase downpayment requirements for both first and second properties. Lending curbs issued by the two metropolises followed similar rules published earlier by cities that included Beijing and the southern boomtown of Shenzhen. Chinese lenders gave out 3.6 trillion yuan （$520 billion） in mortgages in the first nine months of the year， double the amount recorded in the same period last year and accounting for more than 35% of total new loans， central bank data showed. Adding to concerns is the high loan-to-deposit ratio— a key indicator of the banking systems ability to cover fund requirements— at big banks in the country， which has benefited from decades of enormous household savings that have helped to keep lending interest rates low.

Regulators Give Green Light to New Private Bank

Chinese regulators have awarded the fourth license this year to investors seeking to set up a bank — another step to allowing private capital into the banking sector and boosting the growth of the real economy. The China Banking Regulatory Commission （CBRC） approved the establishment of Fujian Huatong Bank in a free-trade zone in the southeast coastal province of Fujian. Chongqing Fumin Bank， Sichuan New Hope Bank and Hunan Sanxiang Bank were licensed earlier this year. Huatong Bank has amassed 2.4 billion yuan （$347 million） from eight privately owned enterprises in Fujian in its registered capital. Yonghui Superstores Co. Ltd.， a supermarket operator， is the top shareholder， holding 27.5% of the equity stake after contributing 660 million yuan. Yango Holdings Group is the second-largest shareholder after injecting 630 million yuan and securing a 26.25% stake. The approval comes as China is encouraging private banks as a way to channel more of the countrys 148.52 trillion yuan in savings to smaller companies that are thirsty for funds. By contrast， many giant state-run companies are having difficulty paying off their bank loans. The eight shareholders of Huatong Bank are in such industries as retail， education， health care and real estate.

Shanghai Luxury Homes Shrink and Prices Stay High

A big trend toward small things is well under way in Shanghais luxury real estate market. The metropolisstratospheric housing prices are forcing developers to downsize high-end properties to make them affordable. Skyhigh home prices are pressing builders in Shanghai to redefine luxury property by size， where the average price of a 90-square-meter home， if not luxury， has been about 25 times average household income this year. More than two years ago， luxury homes with a floor area ranging from 250 to 400 square meters used to be commonplace for the company in Shanghai. However， with housing fever showing no sign of cooling down over the past two years， the State-owned developer is compelled to control selling prices by trimming the size to 200-210 or 130-140 square meters. As of November， the average price of flats in Shanghai had reached 50，000 yuan（$7，278） per square meter， while houses priced at no more than 100，000 yuan per square meter could hardly be labeled as“l(fā)uxury”. Upgraders who are in a hurry to replace their small apartments with better accommodation have been the mainstay of purchasers. The hard fact is the infinite upside potential in Shanghais home-buying costs is lowering peoples expectations for living space. A batch of luxury flats in downtown Shanghai， 100 square meters in size valued at 10 million yuan each， has proven to be highly sought-after. The company said smaller luxury homes could well be a long-term trend， as Shanghai is poised to emerge as a megacity in the foreseeable future， dwarfing its peers like New York， London and Tokyo， both in terms of the size of city and housing prices.

China to Appoint River Chiefs to Protect Its Waters

China will appoint local government heads as river chiefs across the nation to clean up and protect its water resources， said guidelines published by Chinese central authorities. Much as mayors and county heads are responsible for their beats， river chiefs will be responsible for the management and protection of the watercourses， according to a document forwarded by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council. The central government expects to turn such practice into a nationwide mechanism by the end of 2018， said the document. China firstly appointed local government officials as river chiefs in 2007 to address pollution woes of a blue algae outbreak in Taihu Lake， Jiangsu Province. The practice was later adopted in several regions rich in water resources to ensure strong enforcement of environmental policies and enhance coordination. Government officials will be hired as river chiefs at provincial， city， county and township levels， and heads of provincial regions will be general chiefs that are responsible for all rivers and lakes in the region， according to the document. For large rivers and lakes that span across regions， river chiefs will be responsible for different parts of the water bodies and cooperate on management. Responsibilities of the river chiefs include water resource protection， pollution prevention and control， and ecological restoration. Their job performance will be assessed and they will be held accountable if environmental damage occurs in the water bodies they take charge of， said the document. Information including names and responsibilities of the river chiefs will be made public to ensure public supervision， it said. The Chinese government has released a national plan on environmental improvements for the 13th FiveYear Plan period （2016-2020）， which set detailed tasks to cleanse polluted air， water and soil so as to promote ecological civilization and improve its ecological situation. The countrys environmental protection still lags behind its economic status， and decades of fast growth have left the country saddled with problems such as smog and contaminated waterways and soil.