CIC CHIEF JOINS THE RANKS OF THE WORLD’S MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE

Ding Xuedong， Chairman and CEO of the China Investment Corp. （CIC）， has made Forbes magazines list of the worlds most influential people in 2016， occupying 41st place. He stood at 45th place on the same ranking in 2015.

The CIC is Chinas top sovereign wealth fund with total assets exceeding $810 billion at the end of 2015.

Ding， 56， assumed the top post at the CIC in July 2013. Prior to the appointment， he had served as deputy secretary general of the State Council， Chinas cabinet， and had held several positions in the Ministry of Finance （MOF） including vice minister.

Ding holds a Ph.D. in economics from the Research Institute for Fiscal Science under the MOF.

With registered capital of $200 billion， the CIC was founded in Beijing in September 2007 as a vehicle to diversify Chinas foreign exchange holdings and seek maximum returns for its shareholders within an acceptable range of risk. The annualized growth rate of the companys state-owned capital reached 15.3 percent in its first eight years， according to the companys 2015 annual report.

Advancing Toward World Class

Peoples Daily December 19

There are around 800，000 national and industrial standards in the world. But only 2 percent of them are accepted globally. Most of them were established by developed countries.

The existing international standards involving Chinese participation constitute less than 0.2 percent of the total. Chinese enterprises used to pay a lot to use core technologies held by foreign companies.

Chinese enterprises have gained ground after making efforts to innovate and develop new technological standards. Some new standards established by Chinese have begun to prevail internationally as more and more Chinese enterprises go abroad. While creating these new standards， Chinas manufacturing industries and markets have improved and upgraded. In future， Chinas position in global value chains will largely depend on the nations ability to establish standards and rules.

Despite transferring factories to emerging economies， giant corporations in developed countries have always kept a tight grip on their advantages in innovation to consolidate their leading positions in technologies and standards. In future， competition in technologies and patents will be fiercer.

Chinese cellphone producers have achieved certain technological advantages. In addition to Chinas integrated manufacturing capacity， these companies have devoted more effort to developing innovation and technologies， and Chinese smartphone brands have upgraded in line with the growth in their global market shares. China is thus laying a solid foundation to make its own global standards.

From Underground To Overground

Oriental Outlook December 22

When considering intra-urban rail transit， people tend to think of metro systems. But is an underground rail network suitable for every city？ Passenger volume is the major factor to take into consideration before a city decides to build such a transit system. Relatively small passenger numbers will result in wasted capacity， and the revenue generated will be insufficient to cover the operating costs.

In China， the Central Government encourages megacities to build rail transit systems. However， since more power was delegated in 2013 to local governments to examine and approve underground rail construction plans， some small and mediumsized cities with comparatively low traffic flows have joined in the wave of metro system construction， motivated by the desire to stimulate GDP growth and real estate development， according to analysts.

At the beginning of 2015， the National Development and Reform Commission， Chinas top economic planner， issued a mandate setting a number of strict conditions for a city to approve construction of a metro system. Insiders say this constitutes a clear policy signal， namely that cities should not limit themselves to underground railways but should develop rail transport in all its various forms.

According to official statistics， at the end of 2015， metro systems accounted for 67 percent of all ongoing rail transport projects， including metro， light rail and monorail， compared with 73.4 percent in the previous year.

In terms of operating mode， a change is afoot from underground to elevated rail. Monorail， with its light weight and relatively low cost， is favored by some small and medium-sized cities.

In developing rail transport， local authorities should adopt schemes appropriate for local conditions. Elevated monorail offers an attractive option for cities to improve their transport infrastructure.

A Promising New Attempt

Guangzhou Daily December 19

As a private educational organization recently established in east Chinas Hangzhou， Zhejiang Province， Westlake Institute for Advanced Study（WIAS） is ambitious to become a world-class university. In its preparation to become Westlake University in the future， WIAS tries to answer the question about education in China—“Why cant our universities cultivate outstanding figures？”—posed by the famous Chinese scientist Qian Xuesen.

WIAS doesnt seek to develop on a large scale like other universities. It has set up only four institutes. Most of its intended research addresses real needs and aims to solve problems in areas such as medical science， quantum information， pollution control and cutting-edge manufacturing technologies. WIASs setup provides a model for other universities to follow.

Chinas private universities are growing rapidly in number， but they mostly focus on vocational and technical education and have no global position in leading developments in science and technology. By contrast， many of the worlds prestigious universities are private institutions， including Harvard， Yale， MIT and Cambridge. A good many Nobel laureates graduated from these world-class private universities. For example， over 30 Nobel laureates studied at California Institute of Technology， whose student population totals no more than 3，000； and Stanford University ranks number one in terms of Nobel laureate graduates so far in the 21st century.

Private universities account for over 70 percent of all higher learning institutions in the United States and Japan. China， where private universities have a long way to go before they reach world-class level， should encourage the development of such institutions while paving the way for both public and private universities to cultivate more talented people.

DIVING QUEEN RETIRES WITH GLORY

Five-time Olympic gold medalist Wu Minxia announced her retirement from her diving career in Beijing on December 15. She was named as female athlete of the year at the Laureus China Sport Award the same day.

The 31-year-old springboard diver is one of the most successful divers in Olympic history， with five gold， one silver and one bronze medals from four games in a row since 2004.

Wu， who was born in Shanghai， started to receive diving training at age 6 and was selected for the national team seven years later. Since 2001， she had also clinched eight World Championships and 16 World Cup titles， despite various injuries between 2004 and 2008.

After claiming her fifth Olympic gold medal in Rio de Janeiro， Brazil， on August 7， Wu told Xinhua News Agency that she planned to study after finishing her athletics career.

“The Norwegian Government will not support any action that undermines Chinas core interests and major concerns， and will do its best to avoid any future damage to China-Norway relations.”

A statement on the normalization of bilateral relations between China and Norway released on December 19. Relations had deteriorated after the Oslo-based Nobel Committee conferred the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize on a convicted Chinese criminal

“In order to prevent the device from causing harm to the safety of navigation and personnel of passing vessels， the Chinese naval lifeboat verified and examined the device in a professional and responsible manner.”

Ministry of Defense spokesperson Yang Yujun， saying in a statement on December 17 that a Chinese naval lifeboat on December 15 located an unidentified device in waters of the South China Sea which was later confirmed to be a U.S. underwater drone

“We support the research and development of transgenetic technology， but we should be cautious in applying the techniques to crop production.”

Yao Dawei， member of the Standing Committee of the Heilongjiang Provincial Peoples Congress， on a new regulation that bans growing genetically modified （GM） crops in the province and will take effect on May 1， 2017

“If property prices continue to rise rapidly， we believe the government will tighten credit further， including clamping down on down payment financing and raising down payment requirements for second and third mortgages.”

Wang Tao， a UBS China economist， predicting Chinas possible property market regulatory measures in 2017 in a recent research note