Category: Society

(Xinhua)11:10, December 01, 2020

CHONGQING, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) — All of the nucleic acid test results were negative for contacts of the traveler from southwest Chinas Chongqing, who was initially diagnosed as an asymptomatic COVID-19 case upon arriving in the Republic of Korea (ROK), the health authorities of Chongqing said Monday.

The city has traced over 8,000 people who had contact with the traveler or with his close contacts, all of whom have tested negative in nucleic acid screenings, said the headquarters of COVID-19 prevention and control in Chongqings high-tech industrial development zone.

The ROK national is an employee of a local company and had been in the municipality since Feb. 1. He traveled to the ROK Friday and was later diagnosed as an asymptomatic coronavirus case, according to earlier official announcements.

The company said the second nucleic acid test of the traveler in the ROK turned out to be negative.

Environmental samples from the company and the hotel, which had accommodated the ROK national, also tested negative for the virus.

The municipality has allowed the company and the hotels, which had been temporarily shut down due to the incident, to resume operation.

(Peoples Daily Online)17:18, November 30, 2020

Photo shows a bridge in a village of Vientiane, Laos. The bridge was built under a poverty alleviation project carried out by Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China. Photo courtesy of the poverty alleviation work office from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

While lifting itself out of poverty, China’s southern autonomous region Guangxi has also shared poverty reduction experience with neighboring ASEAN countries, such as Laos and Thailand, Xinhua reported.

In Vientiane, Laos, projects from China such as paddy fields, modern agriculture and poverty alleviation through tourism have benefited local farmers.

In September 2017, Guangxi kicked off a poverty reduction program in Laos, aiming to improve local infrastructure and public services through giving technological support. In recent years, such cooperation is not rare between China and Laos.

A farmer from Vientiane, who has travelled to China twice in order to gain knowledge in poverty alleviation, said he is using agricultural technologies he learned from China in order to boost local industries, such as weaving, cow breeding and corn growing.

Thailand, another beneficiary of China’s poverty reduction concept, is currently accelerating poverty alleviation through improving employment services and helping rural areas enhance their own capacity for poverty alleviation, according to Prof. Rajendra P. Shrestha from the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand.

(Xinhua)17:18, November 30, 2020

HONG KONG, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) — Chief Executive of Chinas Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam Monday highlighted Hong Kongs advantages in participating in the Belt and Road cooperation, including its status as a financial center and close ties with the mainland.

For those who are looking to grasp the opportunities presented by the Belt and Road, I would say that Hong Kong is your ideal partner given our unique strengths, Lam said when addressing the Belt and Road Summit.

Organized by the HKSAR government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the landmark forum, running from Monday to Tuesday, is being held online for the first time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hong Kongs growing integration into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is a far-reaching advantage, Lam said, stressing that the Greater Bay Area, with a population of some 72 million, presents the untapped potential for sustainable, inclusive and innovative businesses.

Lam said Hong Kong, one of the worlds leading financial centers, can also contribute to sound and sustainable financing and partnership along the Belt and Road. Over the past few years, Hong Kong has been taking leading steps in promoting green development and investment in sustainable assets.

Hong Kong also boasts multilingual, multi-talented financial and related services professionals, the rule of law, an open and efficient market, the free flow of capital, information and people, and a simple and low tax regime, Lam said.

The summit, the fifth since 2016, attracted thousands of government officials, business leaders, industry experts and senior institutional players from across the world this year.

(Chinadaily.com.cn)10:17, November 30, 2020

Volunteers in Beijing learn first aid, including how to use an automated external defibrillator and perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation.(Photo provided to China Daily)

More machines deployed in key areas

It takes just four minutes for brain cells to be permanently damaged due to a severe lack of oxygen in cases of sudden cardiac arrest where professional help is not immediately available.

If medical workers do not arrive at the scene of such emergencies within 10 minutes, the chances of a victim surviving are minimal.

In September, a 45-year-old man fell unconscious at Huoying station on Line 13 of the Beijing Subway. He died later in the hospital, despite attempts by two passengers to revive him by using cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR.

However, if an automated external defibrillator, or AED, had been available at the scene, the mans chances of survival would have been greatly improved.

An AED can recognize an abnormal heart rhythm and quickly correct it through an electric shock.

The devices are viewed in medical circles as a more efficient and effective method of saving lives in emergencies than using CPR. After a brief training period, people with no medical knowledge can master the basic skills needed to use an AED.

In May last year, a student at Tsinghua University in Beijing fainted in a dormitory after experiencing head sweats. His hands also involuntarily formed fists. Several students began to perform CPR, artificial respiration and also used a newly installed AED to help the stricken freshman.

After two electric shocks were administered, the students heart beat was restored and he was sent to the hospital for further treatment.

An emergency doctor from the hospital who attended the scene said it was highly likely the student would have died had not a series of the correct first aid measures been applied, along with the AED.

In 2010, a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology said the availability of an AED in a community nearly doubles the chances of survival in cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

The research, which focused on assessing the effectiveness of AED use, found that some 38 percent of people who experienced cardiac arrest could survive if they received an electric shock from an AED before the arrival of an emergency medical team.

Pei Zheng, a staff member from Tsinghua Universitys Policy Research Office, said it was really cool that AEDs were available at the institution, as the incident involving the freshman occurred just two months after they were installed.

Its so good that we have these life-saving machines on campus, otherwise we would have heard tragic news, she said.

In March last year, the university received a donation of 341 AEDs from alumnus Xu Hangyu. The devices have been installed around the campus in stages.

It is the first educational institution in China to promote the Public Electric Defibrillation Program, which aims to safeguard students health by providing such devices.

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(Xinhua)13:39, November 30, 2020

BEIJING, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) — Chinas National Health Commission said Monday that it received reports of 18 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland Sunday, including three domestically transmitted cases and 15 imported ones.

All the domestically transmitted cases were reported in Inner Mongolia, the commission said in its daily report.

No new suspected cases or new deaths related to COVID-19 were reported Sunday, the commission said.

A total of 21 COVID-19 patients were newly discharged from hospitals after recovery on the Chinese mainland on Sunday.

By the end of Sunday, a total of 3,858 imported cases had been reported on the mainland. Among them, 3,609 had been discharged from hospitals following recovery, and 249 remained hospitalized. No deaths had been reported among the imported cases.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases on the mainland reached 86,530 by Sunday, including 277 patients still receiving treatment, seven of whom were in severe conditions.

A total of 81,619 patients had been discharged following recovery on the mainland, and 4,634 had died of the virus, according to the commission.

There were seven suspected COVID-19 cases on the mainland on Sunday, and 7,174 close contacts remained under medical observation.

Sunday saw 17 newly reported asymptomatic cases, 14 of whom were arriving from outside the mainland. On the same day, two asymptomatic cases were re-categorized as confirmed cases.

A total of 281 asymptomatic cases were under medical observation, including 274 arriving from outside the mainland.

By the end of Sunday, 6,238 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 109 deaths, had been reported in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 46 cases in Macao SAR, and 651 cases, including seven deaths, in Taiwan.

A total of 5,340 COVID-19 patients in Hong Kong SAR had been discharged from hospitals following recovery, 46 in Macao SAR, and 565 in Taiwan.

(Xinhua)13:42, November 30, 2020

HOHHOT, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) — Chinas border city of Manzhouli reported three confirmed local COVID-19 cases in the past day, local health authorities said Monday.

The new cases were registered from 7 a.m. Sunday to 7 a.m. Monday in Manzhouli, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Among them, one patient was re-categorized from a previously reported asymptomatic carrier, the regional health commission said.

Three new asymptomatic cases were also reported during the same period in Manzhouli, according to the commission.

As of 7 a.m. Monday, Manzhouli had 14 existing local confirmed cases, four asymptomatic cases and two suspected cases. Their 940 close contacts have been placed under medical observation.

Epidemiological surveys and source tracing work regarding the cases are underway.

Manzhouli launched its first round of citywide nucleic acid testing on Nov. 22, and the second round of tests on Friday.

The autonomous region currently has four imported cases.

(Xinhua)17:14, November 30, 2020

LHASA, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) — As high-altitude winds greet the early morning, Gyatso loads the packages of incense sticks into a car. The incense is bound for the city of Lhasa more than 100 km away.

These incense sticks are made through a unique process — a waterwheel drives wood strips around, causing them to beat against stones underwater, turning the strips into a wood-mud material that is used to make the Tibetan incense.

The tractional technique dates back more than 1,300 years in Tonta, a village in Lhasa, capital of southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region.

Our family has been making Tibetan incense for generations. When I was a child, the Tibetan incense was made by hand. During our spare time, we carried the incense to Lhasa, Shigatse and other places to sell it. At that time, it was very hard and we didnt make much money, said Gyatso.

The Tibetan incense is a kind of medicinal incense. Due to the high price of Tibetan medicinal materials needed to make such incense, many people have given up the traditional craft and moved on to other places to make a living. The prices of incense made in family workshops vary greatly, thus leading to blind competition and a lack of innovation.

In order to open up a market, Gyatso began to innovate the incense varieties. After hundreds of failures, eight new Tibetan incense products were born. With the new products, Gyatsos business gradually improved.

In 2008, Gyatso established a company based on his original workshop with his own trademark. In 2019, his incense brand won a gold award at the China Trademark Festival.

Increasing in popularity, Gyatsos Tibetan incense is not only a hot commodity in Tibet, but also deeply loved by customers in other regions including Sichuan, Guizhou and Guangdong. In 2019, the turnover of his company reached 950,000 yuan (about 144,000 U.S. dollars) and profits exceeded 300,000 yuan.

Now we have 25 employees, most of whom are local women, with an average age of over 40, and some of them are from poor households, he said. We provide our employees with raw materials, venues and training and pay according to output. Now everyones income has increased, and poor households have been lifted out of poverty.

In August 2016, Tonta Village set up another Tibetan incense company in the form of a cooperative. The local government gave favorable policies to those who bought shares, and 35 villages have joined the company.

After the establishment of the company, the village officials started to look for markets and orders. Some villages were in charge of production and management. A dividend mechanism was also established.

In 2018, Tonta Village cast off poverty, with an annual per capita income of over 11,000 yuan.

In recent years, the company has actively explored the domestic market and cooperated with major e-commerce platforms to sell the incense.

We are also going to cooperate with a professional e-commerce team in Lhasa to continue to expand our online business via livestreaming and short videos, said Tenzin Jigme, a village official.

(Xinhua)17:17, November 30, 2020

XIAN, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) — Infrared cameras have captured photos and videos of Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys and a wild leopard in a nature reserve in northwest Chinas Shaanxi Province, the reserves administration said Monday.

The rare animals were found in Niubeiliang Nature Reserve after the reserve sorted out around 5,000 pictures and 4,000 video clips shot on the infrared cameras set up this year.

The Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys, an indigenous species on Chinas top protection list, were spotted for the first time in the reserve in two pictures and two clips taken by different cameras, according to the reserve.

They also found a 16-second clip of an adult wild leopard, which is on the top protection list, on Oct. 2.

The cameras have captured photos and videos of more than 20 species of wild animals.

Niubeiliang is part of the Qinling Mountains, which are known as Chinas gene bank of wildlife as they house a huge variety of plants and wild animals such as giant pandas, golden monkeys and crested ibis.

(Xinhua)15:08, November 28, 2020

BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) — Most major production goods monitored by the government posted higher prices in mid-November compared with the previous 10 days, official data showed.

Of the 50 goods monitored by the government, including seamless steel tubes, gasoline, coal, fertilizer and some chemicals, the price of 36 goods rose during the period, with 12 posting dropping prices and two seeing their prices unchanged, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Styrene led the upward trend in prices, followed by sulfuric acid and benzene, according to the NBS.

The reading, released every 10 days, is based on a survey of nearly 1,700 wholesalers and distributors in 24 provinces and regions.

(Peoples Daily Online)11:00, November 26, 2020

A South Korean exhibitor promotes cosmetics via live-streaming at the China Yiwu Imported Commodities Fair 2020 held in Yiwu, east China鈥檚 Zhejiang province. (Photo by Qian Xusheng/People鈥檚 Daily Online)

鈥淭hese grapes come from the alpine areas of South Korea. They are organic fruit and have a strong fragrance. You can eat the skin, too,鈥?said the head of the China business of Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corp. in a live-streaming promotion in fluent Mandarin Chinese.

鈥淏uy it! Buy it!鈥?This popular catchphrase made famous by a Chinese live-streaming host was used by the commercial adviser at the Consulate General of the Republic of Chile in Shanghai during a live-streaming show to promote Chilean avocados and cherries.

The booming online market in China is seeing more and more foreign business executives, stars, and diplomats-turned-live-streaming hosts promote products on online platforms. These eye-catching foreign hosts have promoted various products, including black tea from Sri Lanka, edible bird鈥檚 nests from Malaysia, fish oil from Norway, blueberries from Peru, kiwi fruit from New Zealand, and chocolate from Belgium via live-streaming shows.

Chinese consumers embrace new technologies faster than Westerners, said Bruno Schiavi, co-founder of U.S. hemp and CBD health products provider Uncle Bud鈥檚.

Schiavi likes the fact that he can get immediate feedback from consumers during live-streaming promotions, adding that they enable the company to have more interactions with consumers.

Uncle Bud鈥檚 joined Alibaba鈥檚 online marketplace Tmall not long ago. The company invited former NBA player Dakari Johnson to interact with Chinese consumers during its live-streaming show as its brand ambassador.

During this year鈥檚 鈥淒ouble 11鈥?shopping spree in China, diplomats from 20 countries promoted their countries鈥?products via live-streaming shows, achieving striking results.

The innovative sales promotion mode featuring the combination of diplomats and live-streaming can build trust quickly and encourage consumers to make purchases without doubting the quality of the products, said industry insiders.

Statistics from China鈥檚 Ministry of Commerce (MOC) show that the first half of this year saw over 10 million sales through promotional live-streaming shows in China. These shows promoted sales of over 20 million items and were watched more than 50 billion times.

Experts predicted that the size of China鈥檚 live-streaming e-commerce market will reach 1.05 trillion yuan ($159.6 billion) this year.

Photo shows people making an online promotional video for a seller of imported wine in Qingtian county, Lishui, Zhejiang province. (Photo by Xu Yu/Xinhua)

Foreign brands that have committed themselves to expanding their influence in the Chinese market definitely do not want to miss this great opportunity.

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korean cosmetics enterprises saw the 鈥淒ouble 11鈥?shopping spree in China as an important opportunity for a rebound in sales performance.

A brand under South Korean cosmetics giant Amorepacific scored over 100 million yuan in sales in the first three minutes of presales for this year鈥檚 鈥淒ouble 11鈥?shopping spree.

Japanese brands have also benefited from the festival. Although the COVID-19 pandemic prevented staff members of some Japanese beauty equipment manufacturers from going to China to promote their products in person, many brands, including YA-MAN, Kao, and Shiseido have managed to maintain smooth sales channels through the Internet, according to Japanese media.

With 1.4 billion people and a middle-income demographic made up of more than 400 million people, China is a huge market with the greatest potential in the world. The country is expected to import more than $22 trillion worth of products in the next 10 years, according to industry insiders.

The vitality of China鈥檚 digital economy and potential of the country鈥檚 domestic demand continue to attract foreign brands.

The luxury goods industry, which has been hit hard by COVID-19, has also ramped up efforts to seize a larger slice of China鈥檚 online market.

According to credible data, 10 luxury brands brought their latest products to China via the Tmall platform during this year鈥檚 鈥淒ouble 11鈥?shopping festival. Brands including Cartier and Vacheron Constantin took part in the shopping spree for the first time this year. Vacheron Constantin even debuted its new products, which it had planned to release in global markets this Christmas, at the 鈥淒ouble 11鈥?shopping festival ahead of schedule.

Since the beginning of this year, China has become the major battlefield for many overseas brands seeking business growth.

During this year鈥檚 鈥淒ouble 11鈥?shopping spree, Tmall alone witnessed a total of 25,000 new foreign companies, more than 2,600 new foreign brands, and 1.2 million new imports joining the festival for the first time.

From Nov. 1 to 12 p.m. on Nov. 11, the transaction volume of imports on the Tmall Global shopping platform recorded a 47.3 percent growth year on year, while the sales volume of 180 foreign brands exceeded 10 million yuan and 816 foreign brands made more than 1 million yuan in transactions.

Favorable policies for cross-border e-commerce and support from the relevant major platforms can facilitate the entry of more overseas brands into the Chinese market, at the same time as bringing cross-border e-commerce onto the fast track of development, pointed out experts.