Relics of mysterious ancient civilization shown in Beijing

A bronze mask with exceptionally prominent eyes from the Sanxingdui culture is believed to have been made upon word-of-mouth descriptions of the founding fathers of the State of Shu, and was worshiped by the kingdom's people.

Exquisite artifacts found in the 1980s at the Sanxingdui archaeological site in Southwest China's Sichuan province unveiled the face of the ancient State of Shu that could date to the early 18th century BC.

Further excavations at the nearby Jinsha and Qingyanggong relic sites provided modern scholars more evidence of the kingdom's emergence, development and gradual extinction in the mid-second century BC.

These enthralling objects meanwhile, bearing mysterious patterns, aroused both wide interest in and arguments over the messages they are carrying, especially when very few historic records about the State of Shu have been found, except for some brief folk tales.

The findings and myths surrounding the ancient Shu culture are shared in Beijing at The Splendid Ancient Shu Civilization, an exhibition at the National Museum of China through Sept 19.

It brings together a selection of the finest examples unearthed from the Sanxingdui, Jinsha and Qingyanggong sites, which are loaned from nine museums and archaeological institutions in Sichuan.

This bronze figure with a gold mask from the Sanxingdui culture may depict a member of high society who oversaw political, economic and military affairs.

A bronze cylinder is carved with a dragon head at its top. The dragon has curled horns and a long beard, which are rare in bronzeware of the same period. The cylinder could be the tip of a scepter. 

A bronze item shaped like the wheel of a car is one of the most mysterious objects found at the Sanxingdui site. After comparing it to artifacts excavated from the same site, archaeologists deduced that it may represent the sun and the rays surrounding it.

A gold mask found at the Jinsha site was developed following the Sanxingdui culture.

Single-color glazed porcelain shines in Guangdong

A blue glazed porcelain vase is on display at the Guangdong Museum, July 29, 2018. Monochrome glaze, or sing-color glaze, such as green, red, yellow, blue and white, plays an important role in China's porcelain history, which also strikes a chord with today's aesthetics of minimalism.

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Eminent Buddhist figure painter exhibits in Beijing

Shandong-born artist Xia Jingshan, 95, has gained prominence at home and among overseas Chinese for his ink paintings of Buddhist figures and for sponsoring renovations at several historic Buddhist temples across China.

Throughout decades of residence, first in China's Taiwan province and then the United States, Xia perfected a style in which he inherited the refinement and elegance of Taoist and Buddhist figure paintings from the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties.

An ongoing exhibition at the National Museum of China through Aug 11 reviews Xia's creations by showing his paintings and calligraphic works.

China, UK to safeguard global trade

FM Wang Yi discusses joint approach with British counterpart, Jeremy Hunt

Beijing and London agreed on Monday to continue jointly safeguarding multilateralism and global free trade as well as the World Trade Organization rules during the 9th China-UK Strategic Dialogue in the Chinese capital.

The dialogue was co-chaired by State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Trade liberalization is widely accepted by the international community and is an irresistible trend, and China has always stood on the right side to uphold the free trade system, Wang said when jointly meeting the media with Hunt.

"Whoever takes the unilateral approach will be isolated, which was, is and will be proved by international practice," he said.

Wang said the two countries should resist any form of unilateralism or protectionism.

The two countries agreed to enhance strategic communication and coordination in global and regional affairs, Wang said, adding that they will promote political settlement of troublesome issues and improve reform of the global governance system.

China and the UK agreed to align their development strategies and expand trade and mutual investment, Wang said, adding that they will focus on promoting cooperation in nuclear power, finance and innovation, and expand cooperation in new industries like artificial intelligence, green energy and the digital economy.

It is Hunt's first visit to China as well as his first trip outside Europe since he was appointed foreign secretary earlier this month.

The development and growth of China present opportunities rather than a threat to the world, Hunt said.

He said that the UK hopes to strengthen strategic dialogue with China, deepen understanding and friendship, and enhance exchanges and cooperation in various fields to promote the sustainable development of the golden era of bilateral relations.

Referring to trade friction with the United States, Wang said Beijing's door of dialogue and negotiation remains open, and talks should be conducted on the basis of mutual equality and respect.

"We have to take countermeasures when facing the US's aggressive attitude and infringement, and it is a legitimate defense," he said.

Govt planning national e-commerce regulator

 A national regulator for e-commerce, mandatory data localization and tax sops for data centres are part of an upcoming legislation governing all aspects of electronic commerce in the country, the draft of a national policy showed. The regulator will ensure consumer protection and compliance with foreign investment caps in e-commerce.

The national policy framework in this regard, prepared by a task force headed by commerce secretary Rita Teaotia, was discussed on Monday by a think tank, headed by industry minister Suresh Prabhu, set up for the purpose. The draft will be further fine-tuned before it is sent for inter-ministerial consultations.

The government has been striving to build consensus on an e-commerce policy to mitigate the policy vacuum on key issues related to the sector as well as to effectively respond to a proposal for multilateral discipline in e-commerce at the World Trade Organization (WTO) as various government departments have contradictory views on the matter.


Click here for enlarge
While the draft e-commerce policy has strongly recommended data localization, it has suggested a two-year sunset period for the industry to adjust before localization rules becomes mandatory. It has also suggested direct and indirect tax incentives as well as according infrastructure status to data centres to encourage domestic data storage.

The move will help private sector companies comply with the norms laid down by the Srikrishna committee on data localization. The 10-member expert group headed by former Supreme Court judge B.N. Srikrishna, which submitted the draft bill titled The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018, to the ministry of information and technology (MeitY) on Friday necessitates companies to store a copy of a user’s personal data in the country.

“It is a very encouraging move to give some time to the domestic industry to come to terms with the data storage procedures before actually imposing the legislation. However, it is important to carefully examine which companies actually qualify for this,” said Amber Sinha, lawyer and senior programme manager at Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), a Bengaluru-based think tank.

Both the draft e-commerce policy and the Srikrishna panel have suggested that the government would have access to data stored in India for national security and public policy objectives subject to rules related to privacy, and consent.

To encourage micro, small and medium enterprises, the draft e-commerce policy recommends allowing them to follow inventory-based models for selling locally produced goods through an online platform.

Such companies may also be allowed up to 49% foreign investment. Currently, e-commerce platforms are allowed only to follow marketplace model where 100% FDI is allowed. However, the government has so far not permitted any FDI in inventory-based models.

In what could worry the e-commerce companies, the draft policy recommends that the Competition Commission of India consider suitably amending the thresholds so that competition-distorting mergers and acquisitions below the existing threshold also get mandatorily examined by it in case of e-commerce entities. “For such entities, thresholds based on other variables (such as access to data) which are more relevant in this area, would be considered,” it added.

The task force has also recommended that the goods and services tax (GST) procedures for e-commerce be simplified by allowing centralized registration instead of local registration. “The relevant GST provisions would be modified in order to create a level-playing field between online and offline delivery of goods and services for the purpose of GST,” it said.

Currently, MSMEs with revenue of less than ₹20 lakh a year are not subject to GST if they sale offline whereas they have to pay GST if they sell goods on online platforms.

India, world’s fastest growing major economy, is showing signs of recovery in animal spirits

The world’s fastest growing major economy is showing signs of a recovery in animal spirits, suggesting India’s mid-term outlook can weather global trade tensions and emerging market strains. A cross section of forward-looking indicators compiled by Bloomberg News show largely positive signs. Sentiment in the manufacturing and services sectors — both of which make up nearly 80 percent of the $2.6 trillion economy — rebounded in June, with new orders picking up pace. Bank loan disbursals are growing while auto sales — a barometer of overall demand — are expanding at double-digits.

The RBI is optimistic about growth and a narrowing output gap. The six-member rate-setting committee sees the recovery pushing inflation higher in the coming months — enough to convince analysts and markets that a back-to-back rate increase is due on Wednesday. Any tightening in monetary policy comes amid concerns that the government may ease purse strings and miss budget targets ahead of a federal election in early 2019.
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Inflation is well above central bank’s medium-term target of 4% Outlook set to worsen as oil prices stay high and currency slides Market will be watching if monetary policy panel shifts its stance. Abhishek Gupta, an economist with Bloomberg Economics in Mumbai who’s among a minority predicting the RBI won’t hike this week, said there’s reason for caution and cited favorable base effects for spurring the pick-up in bank credit.

Also read: Share Market Live: Sensex hits new all-time high, Nifty crosses 11,300 for first time in stock market history!

“That’s one reason we are less upbeat on the economic growth outlook than the central bank,” Gupta said. “We see GDP growth recovering to 7.2 percent in fiscal 2019 from 6.7 percent in fiscal 2018, below the Reserve Bank of India’s forecast of 7.4 percent, as of June.”

Here are the full details of the dashboard:

Business Activity

Activity in India’s dominant services industry rebounded in June from a mild contraction the prior month, expanding at its quickest pace in a year. That pulled up the Nikkei India Composite Index to its highest since October 2016 with manufacturing activity also showing signs of growing at a faster clip.

A sure-shot sign of growth in demand is the reading of Nikkei’s index for new orders in June, which also surged to its highest since October 2016. That should give confidence to businesses to produce more and in the longer run draw-down inventories and close the output gap.

Output prices are still rising, although the pace has somewhat stagnated. Nevertheless, the RBI says that companies are increasingly finding their pricing power and transferring higher input costs to consumers. This is likely to stoke inflation and keep the central bank on a hawkish watch.

Exports Growth

The export industry is still recovering from the double blow of a cash ban in late 2016 and the chaotic implementation of a consumption tax introduced last year. It lagged the global economic recovery and now with trade war clouds gathering, the outlook isn’t too great. The only silver lining is a weaker rupee which is probably going to make software exports more competitive.

Consumer Activity

Data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers show that the industry produced nearly 17 percent more vehicles in the April-June period than a year ago. Passenger vehicle sales grew close to 20 percent during that period and makes for a handy indicator in a country which has no retail sales data to track consumer spending. The data also shows commercial vehicles sales rose more than 50 percent and two-wheelers more than 15 percent.

Bank loans are one signal that the RBI believes holds promise. Credit to various sectors including agriculture has risen 12.3 percent year-on-year, data available as of July show.

Not everyone agrees with the RBI’s assessment though. Bloomberg Economics’ Gupta says rising borrowing costs are crimping corporate bond issuances and this indicates that total credit flowing to the corporate sector is weak.

Economic Activity

After a dip in March, foreign direct investments picked up pace in April and May. While that is good news for the broader investment climate, given the risk of an election next year and the threat of policy paralysis before that, inflows could slow in the coming months. That, of course, could have an impact on the India’s external finances, where the current account gap is set to widen in the financial year to March 2019.

Growth in mining and heavy industries — which account for 40 percent of industrial output — has been rather anemic, easing to a 10-month low in May due to weaker steel and cement output and a contraction in crude and natural gas production. It’s not all bad news though. For instance, coal production rose by double digits for the second month in a row in May albeit at a slower pace. Besides, electricity generation went up 3.5 percent in May compared to 2.1 percent in the previous month.

India breaks into top 100 again in Modi era!

After breaking into top 100 on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index under the Narendra Modi era last October, India has marked a similar success on United Nation’s E-Government Index, jumping 22 ranks in last four years and 11 ranks in last two years. India, which was ranked 118 in 2014, is now at 96th rank on the index, which maps how digital technologies and innovations are impacting the public sector and changing people’s everyday lives.

The survey, released by the United Nations every two years, noted that India has scored 100% in the first stage of the E-Participation sub-index, followed by 95.65% in the second stage and 90.91% in the third stage. The overall score of 0.9551 on the E-Participation sub-index has put India among top 15 countries in the list of 193 counties surveyed. In this category, India has emerged as sub-region leader. Denmark is the world leader, both on E-Government index and E-Participation sub-index.

India breaks into top 100 again in Modi era! After Ease of Doing Business, it is UN's e-government index Credit: United Nations
While India scores well on Online Services sub-index as well with a score of 0.9514, it ranks poorly on Telecommunication Infrastructure Index with a mere score of 0.20091. On Human Capital Index as well, India is far below the world average of 0.6627. India’s score on this index is just 0.5484, barely touching the regional index.

Nevertheless, an improvement of 22 ranks is indeed a big shot in the arm of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has been extremely vocal about digitising India. In October 2017, India’s leapfrog jump on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business also helped the country to gain significance on world platforms, as a result of which rating agency Moody’s upgraded sovereign rating Baa2 from Baa3 after a gap of 14 years.

Use e-commerce to boost agri exports to $60 billion; find out what’s being planned

Modi govt’s big idea: Use e-commerce to boost agri exports to $60 billion; find out what’s being planned

In the draft, it has recommended stable trade policy regime, reforms in the APMC Act, streamlining of Mandi fee and liberalisation of land leasing norms. The policy seeks to increase the shipments to over $60 billion by 2022 from about $38 billion.

Agriculture Ministry has suggested several measures including setting up of a system for forecasting demand, green logistics corridor for perishables, and use of e-commerce, to boost shipments of agri commodities to USD 60 billion by 2022.Other steps suggested to Commerce Ministry in this regard include strengthening of domestic regulatory authority, review of Essential Commodity Act and involving Indian missions abroad.

Besides, measures like protecting farmers through appropriate duty instruments, and special safeguard mechanism have been suggested, a senior government official said. The commerce ministry has floated a draft agriculture export policy and is seeking views of all stakeholders including different ministries and departments on the same.

In the draft, it has recommended stable trade policy regime, reforms in the APMC Act, streamlining of Mandi fee and liberalisation of land leasing norms. The policy seeks to increase the shipments to over USD 60 billion by 2022 from about USD 38 billion.

The agri ministry has also suggested setting up of an administrative machinery for regular monitoring of the progress and to ensure that the goal is achieved by 2022. For this, it has asked for a board of agriculture trade, to be headed by the commerce minister, and a centre for agriculture trade which could consist of experts and data analysts.

As part of short and long-term measures, it has recommended modernising export infrastructure across value chain. Moreover, the agri ministry has suggested to work towards ease of logistics, storage hubs, establishing traceability systems, and market intelligence for imports, promotion of crops where imports are large and superfoods, and brand promotion in global markets.

The draft policy aims at addressing a whole range of issues which could potentially propel India into the top bracket of agricultural exports. According to a WTO report in 2017, India is the 10th largest exporter of agricultural products in the world with a share of 2.1 per cent. However, exports of agri commodities, as a percentage of the total production are too low.

The main export destinations include Vietnam, the US, UAE, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Iran, China, the Netherland, Malaysia, Nepal and the UK.  In 2017-18, the exports increased to USD 38.2 billion from USD 33.3 billion in the previous fiscal. Indian agri exports mainly include marine products, basmati and non-basmati rice, buffalo meat, spices, oil meals and coffee.

Four-pronged approach to deal with US

The Sino-US relationship is one of the most important in the world. But a trade war, which US President Donald Trump seems determined to pursue with China, will damage this vital relationship and, equally importantly, push the global economy toward chaos and stunt global growth.

The Trump administration is using the US trade deficit as an excuse to impose additional tariffs on Chinese imports, and has accused China of economic aggression, using unfair practices to acquire foreign technologies, and violating intellectual property rights.

But the fact that it also demands that China further open up its manufacturing and service industries to US enterprises, while restricting Chinese enterprises' investment in the US, shows the core issues of the trade dispute are China's opening-up policy and technology competition between the two sides.

The Trump administration has taken several measures to force China to accept its demands. For example, in November 2017, it issued a report refusing to acknowledge China's market economy status. In December, its National Security Strategy report labeled China a "strategic competitor". And on March 16, Trump signed the "Taiwan Travel Act" that blatantly violates the one-China principle, which the US agreed to follow by signing the Shanghai Communiqué of 1972.

Apart from taking a tough stance against China－which has forced Beijing to fight back－Washington has also stretched the trade dispute to geopolitical issues, including cross-Straits relations, the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and the Iran nuclear deal, from which the US withdrew on May 8. What Trump refuses to realize is that a Sino-US trade war will hurt not only China and the US, but also the global economy as a whole.

Since the US' goal is to maintain its hold on high-end manufacturing, it doesn't want China to upgrade its manufacturing sector. Why? Because the US fears, that by doing so, China could threaten its top position in high-end manufacturing. Which makes Trump's actions nothing more than an attempt to maintain the US' hegemony in vital trade and political fields, and contain the rise of emerging powers such as China.

To counter the US' attempts to block or contain China's exports, foreign investment and technology development, and destabilize China's financial sector by launching a full-fledged trade war, China should further deepen reform and opening-up.

To begin with, China should expedite the process of preparing a negative list for market access, take measures to liberalize high-level trade and investment, build a fair and competitive market environment and inject new vitality into the market.

Second, it should take measures to streamline the administration and develop a business environment conducive to the development of the service sector, as well as deepen supply-side structural reform, in order to reduce the taxation and non-taxation burdens of enterprises, and enhance the financial sector's capacity to better serve the real economy.

Third, China should explore establishing a new international cooperation platform to give a shot in the arm of the Belt and Road Initiative.

And fourth, it should accord priority to people's interests, by taking measures that would help increase their incomes and sense of gain, strengthen the social security net and make economic development more sustainable.

As China's comprehensive strength increases, the ups and downs in Sino-US relations will continue. Trump's attempts to ignite a trade war with China and the loss of mutual trust suggest the existing Sino-US interactive mode is no longer working. So the two sides have to re-adapt to the changing situations and build a bilateral mechanism that can help them settle the mutual differences and reach consensuses on contentious issues.

But it is essential that China remains calm in the face of US threats and its attempts to contain China's rise, while adhering to its independent and win-win development path, because that is the best way to deal with the loose cannon that the Trump administration has become.

Long March-3B carrier twin satellites

China on Sunday sent twin satellites into space via a single carrier rocket, entering a period with unprecedentedly intensive launches of BeiDou satellites.

The Long March-3B carrier rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Southwest China's Sichuan province at 9:48 am, the 281st mission of the Long March rocket series.

The twin satellites are the 33rd and 34th of the BeiDou navigation system. They entered orbit more than three hours after the launch. After a series of tests, they will work together with eight BeiDou-3 satellites already in orbit, said the launch service provider.

China sends twin satellites into space via the Long March-3B carrier rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Xichang, Southwest China's Sichuan province, July 29, 2018. [Photo/Xinhua]
A basic system with 18 BeiDou-3 satellites orbiting will be in place by the year end, which will serve countries participating in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.

Named after the Chinese term for the Big Dipper, the BeiDou system started serving China in 2000 and the Asia-Pacific region in 2012. It will be the 4th global satellite navigation system after the US GPS system, Russia's GLONASS and the European Union's Galileo.

The satellites and the rocket for Sunday's launch were developed by the China Academy of Space Technology and China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, respectively.

Alternative for WhatsApp

Some messengers now are a great alternative for WhatsApp.

WhatsApp has become an integral part of our life. Over 250 million Indians are avid users of WhatsApp. The user-friendly messaging platform has around 1.5 billion users in the world. However, some issues like privacy or even fake messages are proving as a downer for WhatsApp. So, if you are looking for an alternative, here is the list of a few apps that you may like to use instead of WhatsApp:

Hike

Hike can be a great alternative if you are looking for a change from WhatsApp. In fact, it is one of the most popular messaging apps in India nowadays, which is better known for its privacy. As the much debatable issue of privacy is taking forefront nowadays, this messenger wins hands down. Hike allows users to hide their private chats using a password, which is impressive. Hence, users get to keep hike messenger accessible at their fingertips while also maintaining some degree of secrecy and privacy at the same time. Hike messenger also provides huge stickers in conversations. Moreover, it also keeps users engaged with live cricket scores, news and other features.

Telegram

Telegram is a probably the best WhatsApp alternative that allows users to send and receive encrypted messages. In fact, the sole purpose of this app is messaging, which is fast and accurate. Telegram also has real-time synchronisation of messages across various platforms. So if you start typing some message on your smartphone, you can finish that on your desktop and send. Users just have to log into both the devices (mobile phone and desktop) at the same time. Also, if you move to a new phone, all your conversations are readily available by simply logging into your account.

Signal

“Privacy is possible, Signal makes it easy”. This is what Signal private messenger stands for. Using Signal, you can communicate instantly while avoiding SMS fees, create groups so that you can chat in real time with all your friends at once, and share media or attachments all with complete privacy. The server never has access to any of your communication and never stores any of your data.

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Alibaba setting up alliance to train e-commerce talents

E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd announced on Thursday it will launch the Global E-commerce Talent Network in cooperation with renowned universities and training agencies, both domestic and overseas, to cultivate e-commerce professionals with global perspectives for China and economies in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Alibaba said it expects to train 1 million college students and 200,000 owners of small and medium-sized enterprises within five years, raising China's standards for training cross-border e-commerce talents.

The training network builds on Alibaba's Global e-commerce Talent program, which has so far trained nearly 7,000 students and about 2,000 SME owners, covering 10 countries around the globe, according to figures provided by company.

"Our goal is to enable young people and SME owners to develop the digital economy in the future. During the past two years, the global e-commerce talent platform has empowered educators to teach the latest e-commerce concepts and practical skills," said Huang Mingwei, vice-president of Alibaba, on Thursday at the founding ceremony in Guian New Area of Southwest China's Guizhou province.

A wide range of domestic and overseas colleges have joined the new alliance, including the University of International Business and Economics, Northwestern Polytechnical University, the Harbin Institute of Technology, Thailand-based University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, and MARA University of Technology in Malaysia.

The company will work with the Beijing-based University of International Business and Economics to design the curriculum and create e-commerce talent training standards.

The alliance will also expand China's training standards and curriculum to overseas colleges, to develop talents' familiarity with Chinese e-commerce models and boost the local digital economy.

According to a survey by Alibaba, 53 percent of suppliers in Malaysia are seeking e-commerce talents to support their businesses, compared to 43 percent of those in Vietnam.

"We believe that the popularity of e-commerce will raise the need for related professionals in the next few years," said Jaycee Lim, president of Alibaba's business-to-business unit.

Contest to name four male panda cubs launched

Contest to name four male panda cubs launched

CHENGDU -- A contest to name four panda cubs was launched by China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda and the city government of Dujiangyan, in Southwest China's Sichuan province on Tuesday.

Fans from around the world can suggest names for four male pandas born at the center last year using social media platform WeChat.

Organizers will shortlist 20 names from public submissions and allow the public to vote to choose the four winners. The process will take around one month.

Participants can win prizes such as trips to well-known scenic areas or panda parks in Sichuan, including flights, hotels, and entrance tickets.

Giant pandas are listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Official data showed that as of the end of 2013, there were fewer than 2,000 pandas living in the wild, mainly in the mountains of Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces.

Chinese painter Qi Baishi

The master painter

Celebrated Chinese painter Qi Baishi's (1864-1957) works are on display at the Palace Museum, in a rare show of a modern Chinese artist at the venue. While Qi is a household name in China, an exhibition of his paintings was last held at the Palace Museum 64 years ago.

The museum, which was the seat of the royal court in imperial China from 1420 to 1911, is hosting Prosperity in Tranquility: The Art of Qi Baishi with some 200 of his paintings and seals exhibited at the Meridian Gate Gallery since last week.

If you go:
8:30 am - 5 pm, closed on Mondays. Central gallery (through Aug 12) and western wing (through Oct 8) of the Meridian Gate Gallery, Palace Museum, 4 Jingshan Qianjie, Dongcheng district, Beijing (entry via southern gate only).
Tickets: 60 yuan ($8.9) for tickets to the museum; online reservations through en.dpm.org.cn.

Chinese folk painter gives murals new life on paper

Yao Shulong draws a traditional Chinese New Year painting using mural techniques in his studio on July 24, 2018.
Folk painter Yao Shulong was taken by his father to Pilu Temple in North China's Hebei province at age 6, and ever since then he has built a special connection with murals in the temple.

In 2006, he began to make replicas of the murals on paper. After 10 years of practicing line drawing, coloring and powdering, he has managed to make life-size replicas of the murals spanning more than 200 square meters on paper.

Through exhibitions and lecture tours in colleges over the past two years, Yao has promoted traditional murals to wider public audiences.

Sense of family

An award-winning conservationist repays a debt of honor with a research center for rare Chinese white dolphins, Yang Feiyue, Shi Ruipeng and Zhang Li report.

Increasing awareness about environmental issues and the protection of biodiversity has helped restore the number of Chinese white dolphins in Sanniang Bay.

The beach, sea and splendid sunshine might make the bay in Qinzhou, southern China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, look like nothing more than a typical coastal resort, but Sanniang has, in a way, always transcended its counterparts by being a natural home of the Chinese white dolphin, the importance of which has long been regarded on a par with the giant panda.

The ancestors of the white dolphin are said to date back to roughly 10 million years. A portion of the ancestral population departed Australia approximately 8 million years ago and headed northwest toward Indonesia's Sunda archipelago, before continuing onward toward the South China Sea.

Long-term evolution has granted the white dolphins in Sanniang Bay unique physical features and genes.

Their age can be determined by their skin color, which continues to change as they grow older.

While dolphin pups are usually dark gray, young dolphins turn a lighter shade of gray and develop white spots. Adults in the species take on an off-white hue, while elderly members of the species turn snow-white.

"White dolphins are a flagship species (in the ocean), and if we protect them, we are practically protecting tens of thousands of other creatures in the area," says Peking University professor Pan Wenshi.

IPO of Pinduoduo mints new billionaire

Huang Zheng, founder and CEO of Chinese online group discounter Pinduoduo, has entered the ranks of world's billionaires with a fortune of $13.8 billion, as the first trading day of his company on the Nasdaq Stock Market soared more than 40 percent to close at $26.7 per share.

Pinduoduo said earlier Thursday that its flotation was oversubscribed 20-fold by investors, including Fidelity Investments and the sovereign fund of Abu Dhabi. But the company nailed down its offering price at the highest end of the indicative price spectrum — $19 per share, which would translate into $24 billion in total market cap.

Financial news outlet Caixin citing a source familiar with the matter said Pinduoduo could raise the ceiling on the share price up 20 percent to $22.8 for each American depositary share, given the large oversubscription, but Huang Zheng insisted on pricing at $19 per share.

Huang said in an interview with tech news portal All Weather TMT that Pinduoduo regarded the pricing as a good opportunity to present the company's values, and one of them is not taking advantage of others even if there is a chance.

He said he was not surprised by the eagerness of the investors, as rational investors in the US tend to look at the bigger picture. And he believed Pinduoduo has a huge potential based on the existing volume sustained by its business model.


Employees attend the Opening Bell Ringing Ceremony for the listing of Chinese online group discounter Pinduoduo on Nasdaq Stock Market, in Shanghai, July 26, 2018. [Photo/IC]
Founded in 2015, the Shanghai-based startup operates with a combination of social network and group shopping. A price difference between a separate purchase and group buying attracts consumers to recruit friends via sharing a linking on social platforms to buy together at a discounted price.

Pinduoduo has accumulated 343.6 million active buyers in the 12-month period ending June 30, with 262.1 billion yuan ($38.55 billion) in gross merchandise volume. Second-quarter financial data released in the prospectus showed monthly active users on average reached 195 million, up 17 percent from the first quarter.

Despite that its revenues stayed on a growth track from 504.9 million yuan in 2016 to 1,744.1 million yuan in 2017, yet net loss continued, with 201.0 million yuan in the three months this year, compared to 207.7 million yuan in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, Pinduoduo bet heavy on marketing in its attempts to expand its user base. In 2017, its sales and marketing expenses surged nearly 8 times to 1.34 billion yuan. And Huang told All Weather TMT that brand advertising would help improve people's impression on credibility of Pinduoduo.

Huang said there was no competition with Taobao, one of China's leading e-commerce marketplaces, because the two platforms target different users.

Alibaba launched a new platform called Taobao Tejia, or Taobao Special Price Edition, and JD has introduced group shopping. Both let users make bulk purchases of cheap products in a way similar to Pinduoduo.

'Deep Pit Hotel' further takes shape in Shanghai

The "Deep Pit Hotel" developed by the Hong Kong-listed property developer Shimao Group in Shanghai is expected to be the lowest-lying hotel in the world, with its space extending 88 meters below sea level.

Located in the deep pit of a former mine in Songjiang, Shanghai, the hotel has two floors above ground and 16 underground as well as 336 guest rooms.

As two of the underground floors are even underwater, hotel guests can see fish swimming through the glass windows of the room as if they were on the bottom of the sea.

The hotel project was set up in 2006, but construction did not start until 2013 due to the difficulties and risks.

As of mid-July, interior decoration, green construction, pit wall construction and road construction are still underway.

The project has already acquired nearly 40 patents as it overcame a series of world-class technical problems for architects.

Equipment failure to blame for substandard vaccine

Equipment failure caused the production of substandard vaccine by Wuhan Institute of Biological Products Co, the Hubei province Food and Drug Administration revealed on Friday.

The vaccine packing equipment experienced a temporary fault that led to the uneven distribution of effective elements in the vaccine suspension, it said in a statement.

Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, based in Hubei, produced a batch of 400,520 doses of substandard diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough vaccine (DTaP) for infants. Another manufacturer, Changchun Changsheng Bio-tech Co in Jilin province, produced 252,600 substandard doses.

The 400,520 doses of substandard vaccine produced by Wuhan Institute of Biological Products were sold to Chongqing municipality and Hebei province, the administration said.

The number of children vaccinated with them has not been revealed, but the administration said the remaining substandard doses had been recalled and destroyed by the manufacturer.

It said health departments in Hebei and Chongqing had arranged since February for children given the substandard vaccine to be revaccinated.

The 252,600 doses of vaccine produced by Changchun Changsheng Bio-tech Co were all sold in Shandong province, with 215,184 children being vaccinated, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Shandong.

The China Center for Disease Control and Prevention said the substandard DTaP vaccines are not harmful to the human body, but could lead to poor immunity from the diseases targeted.

World's largest container vessels under construction in Shanghai

Construction of two container ships with the carrying capacity of 22,000 TEUs, which would make them the largest container vessels in the world, began on Thursday, the paper.cn reported.

The two are among nine 22,000 TEU vessels deal signed by French container shipping operator CMA CGM and China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) in September last year.

Built by Shanghai-based Jiangnan Shipyard and Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, the two container vessels measure 400 meters in length, 61.3 meters in breadth and 33.5 meters in depth.

The deadweight of the box ship is 220,000 DWT, which can contain 1,000,000,000 iPhoneX (with standard packing box). Moreover, it can still hold 2,200 4-foot refrigerated containers, accounting 20 percent of the whole TEU.

Besides, they are also the world's first giant container ships propelling with engines burning liquefied natural gas, a technology breakthrough for environmental protection. They have distinctive advantages compared to the current ships using heavy fuel oil: Up to 25 percent less CO2, 99 percent less sulphur emissions, 99 percent less fine particles and 85 percent nitrogen oxides emissions.

The two vessels are expected to be delivered in 2019.

BRICS a stronger bloc for defending free trade

Judging by the statements of its member states and the theme of the ongoing 10th BRICS summit, "BRICS in Africa: Collaboration for Inclusive Growth and Shared Prosperity in the 4th Industrial Revolution", the five-nation bloc affirms, through concrete actions, its commitment to support multilateralism and the democratization of the international trading system in the face of US trade protectionism and unilateralism.

The tariff war ignited by the United States could evolve into a full-blown trade war and stunt global economic growth, causing greater difficulties in developing countries. In addition, it is weakening the World Trade Organization, and questioning the effectiveness and legitimacy of the organization.

Unilateral trade measures that cause widespread damage to a number of countries may not only lose their "protective" character for the domestic market and jobs, but also, and more importantly, become an "act of aggression" against the markets and jobs in other countries. The WTO was created precisely to be the institutional-normative framework of reference for all member countries in determining their action limits in global trade, in order to promote "competition", not a commercial "war", between them.

Given this context, it is necessary for the BRICS countries to remove the danger of unilateralist rhetoric and US protectionist measures by emphatically supporting the multilateral trading system of the WTO and increasing intra-BRICS trade. In this regard, much has to be done, as China is the only country among the five BRICS members that has substantial bilateral trade relations with each of the other four.

Besides, the expansion of intra-BRICS trade should be accompanied by the enlargement of BRICS as a political and economic platform. At last year's summit in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, China proposed the concept of "BRICS Plus", a cooperation approach to build an open and diversified network of emerging and developing economies for mutual benefits.

World Bank reports show the trend of increased participation of these emerging economies in the global economy. So, if there is a vertical deepening of intra-BRICS trade relations to be done, the horizontal extension of BRICS so as to admit new members will promote the democratization of the international system. However, the enlargement process must take into account certain criteria, including the maintenance of the BRICS' original reform agenda toward some international organizations. In this respect, probably the WTO must be one of those that needs to be reformed.

Finally, each one of the BRICS countries could promote initiatives which would strengthen international trade. China will set an apt example later this year when it holds the first China International Import Expo in Shanghai on Nov 5-10. Known as an exports-dependent nation, China now wants to buy more foreign goods and services to meet the growing domestic demand for more and better products.

The Shanghai expo that will see the participation of more than 100 countries and regions would be a perfect example of an initiative that favors the promotion of free global trade. Perhaps the BRICS Business Council could play a more active role in the expo, and envision similar initiatives for the future.

It is time for concrete initiatives. BRICS has the opportunity to react positively to unilateralism and protectionism, without letting the obstacles created by the US to paralyze it. Contrary to what may be assumed, the current moment is a great opportunity for BRICS to show its commitment to building a community with a shared future for mankind.

China awaits Washington tariff hearing result

United States' accusations against China of unfair trade practices related to intellectual property protection and technology transfer are unfounded, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

The comment was made after a two-day public hearing by the Office of the US Trade Representative was wrapped up in Washington proposing tariffs on another $16 billion worth of Chinese exports.

In hundreds of comments sent by business associations to the US trade authority office, more than 90 percent opposed the newly proposed tariffs, said Gao Feng, the ministry's spokesman.

"Since the US conducted a Section 301 investigation, the US has been intensifying trade frictions while blaming China for the negotiations being at a standstill," Gao said.

Section 301 deals with intellectual property rights issues.

The two countries have not yet been in touch regarding a possible timetable for a resumption of negotiations, Gao said.

"China has said many times that it is never eager to take part in a trade war, but it is not afraid to participate if necessary. China will firmly defend its legitimate rights," he said, adding that the country will enhance cooperation with its global trading partners and firmly defend free trade principles and a multilateral trade mechanism.

The US trade authority also identified an additional $200 billion in goods slated for a 10 percent duty hike after China recently retaliated amid the escalating trade dispute. US President Donald Trump has said he is "ready to go" with tariffs on $500 billion in imports.

Gao said the US, for domestic political agenda purposes, would rather sabotage the current hard-earned global trade system as well as damage the rights and interests of companies along the entire value chain, including the US agricultural sector.

"But such blackmailing and threats will not have any impact on China," he stressed.

Of the tariffs targeting $50 billion in Chinese goods, $34 billion worth took effect on July 6, and the remainder depends on the outcome of the two-day US Trade Representative hearing, which concluded on Wednesday.

"The proposed action is not in the interests of the United States," the China Chamber of Commerce said. "Raising tariffs will not only hurt US importers, retailers and downstream industries, but also result in a higher cost of living for ordinary Americans and put millions of US jobs that are tied to trade with China at risk."

Semiconductors are the fourth-largest US export by revenue, with a trade surplus of over $6 billion in 2017, and the US has consistently had a semiconductor trade surplus with China, with a surplus of approximately $2 billion in 2017, according to the US International Trade Commission.

On the import side, many Chinese-made semiconductors coming into the US are designed and/or manufactured in the US and shipped to China for the final stage of assembly, testing and packaging, the Semiconductor Industry Association said.

"Tariffs on US semiconductor-related imports from China would cause US companies to pay tariffs on their own products," the association said.

Xi charts BRICS cooperation

Summit speech urges joint efforts to 'unlock enormous potential'

BRICS member countries should deepen their strategic partnership and enhance cooperation in such areas as trade, investment, finance and interconnectivity, President Xi Jinping said on Thursday.

In his speech at the opening of the BRICS Summit held in Johannesburg, Xi said that BRICS countries should push forward free trade, facilitate investment and firmly oppose protectionism.

The BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — should safeguard the multilateral trading system under the framework of the United Nations, the G20 and the World Trade Organization, Xi said.

"We must unlock the enormous potential of our economic cooperation," he said, adding that closer economic partnerships for shared prosperity is the top priority for BRICS.

China will carry out a project to enhance human resources cooperation, invite experts from the five countries to draft a blueprint for working together in a new industrial revolution and improve the competitiveness of emerging markets and developing countries, Xi said.

He called on BRICS members to uphold multilateralism, safeguard the principle of the UN Charter, encourage all parties to resolve disputes through coordination and jointly build a new type of international relations.

It is important for BRICS countries to continue to pursue innovation-driven development and strengthen coordination on macroeconomic policies, Xi said, adding that BRICS members should reinforce their efforts to renew and upgrade economic drivers.

Noting that new global growth drivers will replace old ones in the coming decade, he said several problems remain, such as north-south development imbalances.

Xi pointed out that the growth of emerging markets and developing countries are still being influenced by regional conflicts, unilateralism and protectionism.

BRICS countries should deepen people-to-people exchanges and enhance cooperation in areas including culture, education, health, sports and tourism, Xi said.

The five member countries set up the BRICS Plus cooperation mode during the BRICS Xiamen Summit held in China in September, he said, adding that BRICS' "circle of friends" should be continuously expanded.

BRICS countries should strengthen cooperation to make the second golden decade a reality, Xi said.

US action ‘largest trade war in economic history’, says China

Beijing:

China on Friday reacted angrily over US President Donald Trump’s action of slapping heavy tariffs on Chinese exports, calling it “the largest trade war in economic history” between the world’s top two economies.


Beijing said that it has put into action a series of retaliatory actions against US trade which became effective the moment Trump’s decision was enforced.

But the Chinese commerce ministry did not spell out the details of its actions. “The duties are typical bullying behaviour, which will have a serious impact on the global industrial and value chain and pose obstacles to global economic recovery,” the Chinese ministry said.

China has limited scope of punishing US because its exports are limited. Besides, it cannot take negative action in several areas because it might boomerang on Chinese companies. Some American products have Chinese components in terms of machine parts made and exported from China.

China received support from an unlikely quarter, the American Chamber of Commerce in China, which expressed concern over PresideTrump’s moves.

“There are no winners in a trade war. Counter-productive import tariffs, such as these, hurt not only the economies of the US and China but those of every country in the world,” the body’s chairman William Zarit said.

US kicks off trade war with China Rest Of World Too Will Be Hit By Trump Move

US kicks off trade war with China
Rest Of World Too Will Be Hit By Trump Move


Washington:

The US and China slid into an unprecedented trade war on Friday. The world’s two largest economies slapped tariffs on $34 billion each on imports from the other country in an opening salvo that could soon take the entire world into an economic slowdown.


President Trump indicated to reporters on Thursday that he will bump it up to tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods in two weeks if Beijing continues with titfor-tat measures. And if China did not back down, he warned that he would up the stakes, first to tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, and then to $ 500 billion, which is pretty much the entire complement of Chinese exports to the US.

In contrast, China imports only about $125 billion worth of goods from the US. The President and his aides clearly feel they have the upper hand in forcing Beijing to address the $ 375 billion trade deficit by buying more American goods to level the playing field.

China though has indicated that even if it has the lighter hand in imposing reciprocal punitive tariffs, it will not be bullied into buying American goods it does not need. Analysts say it can resort to some unconventional methods to inconvenience American businesses in China, with some fearing could mean tougher and subjective scrutiny on companies such as Starbucks and Apple, taking the trade war to uncharted territory.

“US measures are essentially attacking global supply and value chains. To put it simply, the US is opening fire on the entire world, including itself,” China’s commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng said in Beijing.

The contagion is expected to spread. Trump has slapped tariffs on all major US trading partners: China, Canada, Mexico, the European Union and Japan (India is way down the line but is not excepted). All but Japan have imposed retaliatory tariffs.

The US imported nearly $ 2.4 trillion in goods in 2017, and as of now the tariffs are not particularly painful to American consumers (although prices of goods such as imported washing machines have risen) because they cover less than 5% of the imported goods. But if the issue is not resolved and Trump raises the stakes to tariffs on $ 800 billion imports from all major trading partners, everyone will feel the bite.

US tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese goods kicked into effort at midnight on Thursday, with 25% duties on a range of products including motor vehicles, computer disk drives, parts of pumps, valves and printers and many other industrial components. Merchant ships from both sides raced to ports to beat the midnight deadline, even as analysts warned there would be no winners in the trade war, just end-of-the-line losers among consumers and producers.

India is a relatively modest player in the global trade sweepstakes with a $ 23 billion trade gap with US. But Trump’s fundamentally nativist outlook and his take-no-prisoners, give-no-quarter negotiating style, Indian officials are acknowledging privately, comes as a sobering reminder that there is no such thing as a free lunch or friendship based on geo-politics with a businessman-President.

In fact, the scuttlebutt in Washington is that the Chinese were keen on making a deal to whittle down their surplus by pledging to buy $200 billion worth of American goods during talks in May, but the US President instructed his negotiators to seek ironclad guarantees, not just promises.

Trump’s minions were not impressed either with New Delhi’s projections that it would be buying billions worth of American airplanes, energy, and armaments in the coming decade, which would cumulatively wipe out the current $ 23 billion trade deficit. Many countries, including India, have complained that there are too many restrictions on American exports that they actually want, and Washington simply wants to unload its excesses, such a chicken legs, on countries that don’t particularly need them.


WHEN CHINA ROOTED FOR A CARGO SHIP: An illustration shows Peak Pegasus, a cargo vessel carrying soybeans from the US to the port in Dalian, China, on a ship-tracking screen. On Friday, China’s social media was rooting for the ship to beat the deadline before Chinese tariffs kicked in. Tracking the journey of the vessel was the 34th-highest trending topic on the country’s Twitter-like Weibo on Friday, beating the World Cup, showbiz gossip and Beijing’s escalating trade war with Washington. However, the Peak Pegasus fell short. At 5.30pm (local time), it was at anchor near Dalian, missing the noon deadline