Posted on

China to refine financial services, promote steady development of personal insurance

(Xinhua)08:12, December 10, 2020

BEIJING, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) — China will adopt a host of policy steps to promote the scale and quality of the personal insurance sector and facilitate its steady development, to meet peoples diverse needs, the State Councils executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang decided on Wednesday.

It was agreed at the Wednesday meeting that further improving financial services and promoting the development of personal insurance is conducive to better serving peoples essential needs and facilitating economic and social development.

Chinas personal insurance has seen sound and fast development in recent years with commercial personal insurance reaching a considerable coverage nationwide, yet problems such as insufficient supply and low level of protection still exist, said the meeting.

The personal insurance sector in China has made notable progress in recent years, with insurance coverage continuously expanding and public awareness of risks steadily increasing. That said, the sophistication and coverage of Chinas personal insurance sector remain modest. This also indicates that China is a huge insurance market with enormous potential, Li said.

Attendees at the meeting emphasized the need to deepen reform and opening-up of the insurance sector, with a focus on optimizing supply and providing high-quality personal-insurance products, to meet peoples needs for health, old-age support and safety protection.

The development of commercial insurance shall be stepped up. Commercial medical insurance products that suit the needs and paying capacity of the elderly shall be developed. Insurance companies will be encouraged to incorporate medical expenses, within reasonable range yet outside basic medical insurance catalog, into insurance coverage.

We must focus on key areas, especially the medical insurance or commercial health insurance. More types of insurance targeting critical illnesses shall be supported and aligned with the basic medical insurance system as supplement to enhance critical illness insurance protection for urban and rural residents, the premier said.

Openness shall be extended in an orderly manner, and international cooperation strengthened, to promote the development of health insurance and provide better services. At the current stage, medical insurance remains a top priority to meet peoples growing demand for greater health, he said.

Commercial endowment insurance, which serves as the third pillar of Chinas pension system, will be put under unified standards and regulations, and its development will be stepped up. The protection function of commercial endowment insurance shall be intensified. Endowment insurance featuring convenient application, flexible payment and relatively stable earnings shall be supported, and pension annuity insurance products actively developed. The insurance sector is encouraged to participate in a pilot insurance scheme for long-term care.

Commercial endowment insurance shall be vigorously developed. In the past few years, new industries and new business models have emerged as China deepens reform of government functions and encourages entrepreneurial and innovation activities nationwide, Li said.

Suitable supplementary endowment insurance shall be developed to cater to the needs of people working in these businesses, as well as of those in flexible employment, to ensure a more reliable guarantee for the future. It will help sustain existing jobs and create new jobs. This is a major task, and breakthroughs shall be made, he said.

The long-term investment capabilities of insurance funds are to be enhanced, while the supervision of assets and liabilities will be strengthened, and risk prevention and control stepped up. Differentiated regulatory ratio shall be adopted for equity assets involving insurance fund investments, up to 45 percent of the companys total assets.

Insurance funding will be encouraged to participate in major construction projects, such as infrastructure and new-type urbanization, to better facilitate its role in driving the real economy. Special rectification regarding related-party transactions will be carried out, to resolutely deter illegal acts of misuse, arbitrage or embezzlement of insurance company funds.

Risk prevention and control must be enhanced on an ongoing basis to prevent speculative use of insurance funds. Greater efforts shall be made to address the difficulty in settling insurance claims and draw more people to participate in insurance schemes, Li said.

Posted on

Virtual meeting helps promote U.S. Oregon agricultural products in Chinese market

(Xinhua)09:22, December 10, 2020

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) — Good morning, China! Good evening, America! Warm greetings kicked off the Oregon Agricultural Products Online Promotion Meeting on Tuesday evening.

More than 80 economic officials and entrepreneurs from Chinas Fujian Province, Tianjin Municipality, and the U.S. state of Oregon participated in the event from more than a dozen venues.

This is the first economic exchange event organized through the sister relationship between China and the United States since the U.S. election, Oregon China Council (OCC) President Lan Jin told Xinhua on Wednesday.

Chinas Fujian Province and Tianjin Municipality respectively founded the Sister Relationship with Oregon in 1984 and 2014. They both decided to organize their economic officials and companies to meet with Oregon counterparts over the virtual gathering to conduct business cooperations amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oregon has experienced a severe outbreak of COVID-19 and wildfires this year. China exhibited its generous support to Oregon with donations, concerns, and sympathies, the OCC noted. The virtual meeting between Oregon and Chinese buyers is a further expression of the enduring friendship of both sides.

As initiator and one of the organizers, OCC held the online promotion conference along with the Foreign Affairs Office of Fujian Province, Fujian Department of Commerce, Tianjin Foreign Affairs Office, Tianjin Municipal Bureau of Commerce, and Oregon Department of Agriculture.

Cooperation at the sub-national level forms the basis for China-U.S. relations at the national level, said Wang Donghua, Chinese Consul General in San Francisco during his keynote speech.

Wang argued that it is time to bring Sino-U.S. relations back to normal, which calls for the synergy of efforts at both national and sub-national levels to create a better environment for cooperation. The history of China-U.S. relations shows that they stand to benefit from cooperation and lose from confrontation.

This event demonstrated the willingness of local cooperation between China and the United States and the desire for economic exchanges. From concrete things, from the basic things, and the needs of the people, we devote ourselves to build Sino-U.S. relations, Lan echoed Wangs remarks.

China is Oregons largest trade partner and export destination. The trade volume between China and Oregon exceeded 9.2 billion U.S. dollars last year, making due contribution to local jobs and revenue, Wang said.

Shemia Fagan, the Oregon Secretary of State-elect expressed her appreciation in her speech that the mutually beneficial relationship between China and Oregon has supported families and communities like hers in those very agricultural producing parts of the state.

I couldnt help but recognize really the fact that I need somewhat an embodiment of the community that you and your relationship helps support here in Oregon, she noted while recalling her childhood. I just want to stand here as kind of the human embodiment of those relationships.

After Jess Paulson, Program Area Director at Oregon Department of Agriculture presented the states agriculture products at length, many Chinese potential buyers showed great interest and inquired further about the products details during the following Q A session.

Its important for our state and our relationships with our friends in Fujian and Tianjin and all over China to act as an example on how we can work together for the rest of the United States. David Brock Smith, an Oregon State Representative said.

Our friendships can only continue to grow in those relationships. We need to do this more often and collaborate more so that we can benefit both our peoples, he added.

Wang also introduced the new development in China at the meeting, saying a more mature and brisk domestic market will generate more opportunities for other countries.

He hoped that China and Oregon would further explore the potential for cooperation and translate the potential into real benefits as both sides complement each other in economic development.

Brian Clem, the Chair of the Agriculture and Land Use Committee at Oregon House of Representatives, has visited China 29 times in the past ten years and is always ready to make new friends.

The Chinese market is huge and the cuisine is attractive, he commended, adding that it would be great if Chinese chefs can eventually use ingredients from Oregon.

Posted on

Cross-border trade settlement in renminbi at 633.8 billion yuan in November

(Xinhua)10:46, December 10, 2020

BEIJING, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) — Renminbi-denominated cross-border trade settlement hit 633.8 billion yuan (about 97.06 billion U.S. dollars) in November, central bank data showed Wednesday.

Of the total, 445.8 billion yuan came from cross-border trade in goods, and 188 billion yuan came from cross-border trade in services and other current account items, said the Peoples Bank of China.

Yuan-denominated direct investment settlement stood at 313.1 billion yuan in November, with 88 billion yuan from outbound direct investment and 225.1 billion yuan from inbound foreign direct investment.

In 2019, yuan-denominated cross-border trade settlement amounted to 6.04 trillion yuan.

Posted on

Chinas high-tech hub proves hotbed for investment

(Xinhua)10:57, December 10, 2020

SHENZHEN, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) — The 2020 Shenzhen Global Investment Promotion Conference has exemplified investors insight into the strong innovation capability of the high-tech hub in south Chinas Guangdong Province, with 242 deals signed, clinching contractual investments of 780 billion yuan (119 billion U.S. dollars).

Wang Weizhong, Party secretary of Shenzhen, attended the conference Tuesday as an investment promotion commissioner to introduce Shenzhens business environment, industrial development strategy, and layout of industrial development.

A total of 324 companies from a wide range of fields, including new-generation information technology, manufacturing, bio-medicine, new material, and finance, participated in the conference. About 40 percent of the companies were from 15 countries and regions including the United States, Japan, Britain, France, Germany and Singapore.

We value the strong innovation vitality of Shenzhen. With the strong economic development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, we hope to establish an RD center here. At the same time, we are willing to bring more solutions to global markets with our innovation outcomes in China, said James Zhao, senior vice president of ABB China Ltd.

According to the Shenzhen commerce department, the city utilized over 7 billion U.S. dollars of foreign investment in real terms in the first ten months this year, up by 7.58 percent year on year.

Shenzhen celebrated the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Special Economic Zone in October. Chinas supporting policies of developing the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has sustained Shenzhens advantage as a popular destination for foreign investment.

Posted on

China holds stronger position in global trade despite COVID-19 Fortune magazine

(Xinhua)11:08, December 10, 2020

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) — China has pulled ahead in global trade despite disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as trade data indicated the countrys recovery from the pandemic, Fortune magazine said Wednesday.

Chinas foreign trade expanded 7.8 percent year on year last month, with exports jumping 14.9 percent year on year in yuan terms, the Chinese General Administration of Customs said Monday.

Chinas economy is in the midst of an impressive recovery from the global health crisis, with third-quarter GDP growth coming in at nearly 5 percent, the Fortune article said.

Meanwhile, Chinas export boom also reflected the impact of lockdowns on Western economies, which are producing and exporting less as a result — and relying more on foreign imports, it said.

The U.S. trade deficits with China continue to rise, while China is importing more American goods than before, Fortune said.

Posted on

Astronomers release giant 2D map of universe

(Xinhua)09:47, January 15, 2021

BEIJING, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) — An international research team has released a giant 2D map of the universe, the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences said Thursday.

Conducted by the Beijing-Arizona Sky Survey (BASS) of the NAOC and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), the study paves the way for the upcoming new-generation dark energy spectroscopic survey.

Nearly 200 researchers from the NAOC and the DESI jointly observed galaxies and analyzed the data over the past six years. They stitched together the observed images and formed a giant 2D map of the universe.

The map covers half of the sky, digitally sprawls over 10 trillion pixels and contains about 2 billion objects, said Zou Hu with the NAOC.

Astronomical observations reveal that the universe is expanding and appears to be accelerating. The power driving the expansion is called dark energy by astronomers, according to Zhao Gongbo, deputy director of the NAOC, also a team member of the DESI.

Dark energy accounts for about 68 percent of the universe and remains a mystery, Zhao said.

By measuring large-scale redshifts of galaxies, which are usually considered as evidence of cosmic expansion, astronomers can describe the 3D distribution of the cosmic materials and reveal how dark energy impacts cosmic expansion.

The DESI will conduct a five-year mission to obtain the redshifts of millions of galaxies and construct the largest 3D universe, said Zhao, noting that it is expected to solve the mystery of dark energy.

Posted on

Study finds possible COVID-19 presence in Brazil as early as December 2019

(Xinhua)09:57, January 14, 2021

BRASILIA, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) — The health department of the state of Espirito Santo, Brazil, announced on Tuesday that the presence of IgG antibodies, specific for SARS-CoV-2 virus, was detected in serum samples from December 2019.

The health department said that 7,370 serum samples had been collected between December 2019 and June 2020 from patients suspected of being infected with dengue and chikungunya.

With the samples analyzed, IgG antibodies were detected in 210 people, of which 16 cases suggested the presence of the novel coronavirus in the state before Brazil announced the first officially-confirmed case on Feb. 26, 2020. One of the cases was collected on Dec. 18, 2019.

The health department stated that it takes about 20 days for a patient to reach detectable levels of IgG after the infection, so it could have occurred between late November and early December 2019.

The Brazilian Ministry of Health issued a notice on the same day, instructing the state to conduct in-depth epidemiological investigations and send serum samples to Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, for RT-PCR test.

Only with confirmation by the reference laboratory and the deepening of epidemiological studies will the Ministry of Health be able to confirm, or not, whether these cases were really positive for SARS-CoV-2, said the ministry.

Posted on

China unveils top 10 advances in life sciences

(Xinhua)10:16, January 14, 2021

BEIJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) — The China Association for Science and Technology on Wednesday released the countrys 10 most significant advances in 2020 in the life sciences field, highlighting food security and the COVID-19 epidemic.

The discovery of a smelly locust compound behind these pests swarming topped the list. For the first time, it has revealed the mystery of locust swarms, which will be very significant in the control and prediction of locust plagues, and inspire scientists to solve the global food problem.

Other notable advances include the first 3D structure analysis of the COVID-19 protein, the unveiling of two drug candidates against the virus, and the construction of animal models for COVID-19 treatment.

Chinese scientists have also achieved advances in finding a disease-resistant gene for wheat, developing new cholesterol-lowering drugs, and the mechanism and regulation of organ aging in humans. Other advanced include brain cell research, unraveling a brain-spleen neural connection, improving nitrogen use efficiency, and CAR-T cells therapy.

The selection of the top 10 advances in life sciences has been hosted by the association every year since 2015.

Posted on

More evidence shows COVID-19 circulating outside China earlier than previously believed

(Xinhua)12:21, January 14, 2021

BEIJING, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) — The health department of the state of Espirito Santo, Brazil, announced on Tuesday that the presence of IgG antibodies, specific to SARS-CoV-2 virus, was detected in serum samples from December 2019.

The health department said that 7,370 serum samples had been collected between December 2019 and June 2020 from patients suspected of infection with dengue and chikungunya.

With the samples analyzed, IgG antibodies were detected in 210 people, of whom 16 cases suggested the presence of the novel coronavirus in the state before Brazil announced its first officially-confirmed case on Feb. 26, 2020. One of the cases was collected on Dec. 18, 2019.

The health department said that it takes about 20 days for a patient to reach detectable levels of IgG after an infection, so the infection could have occurred between late November and early December 2019.

The Brazilian Ministry of Health has instructed the state to conduct in-depth epidemiological investigations for further confirmation.

The findings in Brazil are the latest among studies worldwide that have added to growing evidence that COVID-19 silently circulated outside China earlier than previously thought.

Researchers from the University of Milan have recently found that a woman in the northern Italian city was infected with COVID-19 in November 2019, according to media reports.

Through two different techniques on skin tissue, the researchers identified in a biopsy of a 25-year-old woman the presence of RNA gene sequences of the SARS-CoV-2 virus dating back to November 2019, according to Italian regional daily newspaper LUnione Sarda.

There are, in this pandemic, cases in which the only sign of COVID-19 infection is that of a skin pathology, Raffaele Gianotti, who coordinated the research, was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

I wondered if we could find evidence of SARS-CoV-2 in the skin of patients with only skin diseases before the officially recognized epidemic phase began, said Gianotti, adding we found the fingerprints of COVID-19 in the skin tissue.

Based on global data, this is the oldest evidence of the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in a human being, said the report.

In late April 2020, Michael Melham, mayor of Belleville in the U.S. state of New Jersey, said that he had tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies and believed he had contracted the virus in November 2019, despite a doctors reported assumption that what Melham had experienced was just a flu.

In France, scientists found a man was infected with COVID-19 in December 2019, roughly a month before the first cases were officially recorded in Europe.

Citing a doctor at Avicenne and Jean-Verdier hospitals near Paris, BBC News reported in May 2020 that the patient must have been infected between 14 and 22 December (2019), as coronavirus symptoms take between five and 14 days to appear.

In Spain, researchers at the University of Barcelona, one of the countrys most prestigious universities, detected the presence of the virus genome in waste water samples collected on March 12, 2019, the university said in a statement in June 2020.

In Italy, research by the National Cancer Institute in Milan, published in November 2020, showed that 11.6 percent of the 959 healthy volunteers who participated in a lung cancer screening trial between September 2019 to March 2020 had developed COVID-19 antibodies well before February 2020 when the first official case was recorded in the country, with four cases from the study dating to the first week of October 2019, which means those people had been infected in September 2019.

On Nov. 30, 2020, a study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that COVID-19 was likely in the United States as early as mid-December 2019, weeks before the virus was first identified in China.

According to the study published online in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, CDC researchers tested blood samples from 7,389 routine blood donations collected by the American Red Cross from Dec. 13, 2019 to Jan. 17, 2020 for antibodies specific to the novel coronavirus.

COVID-19 infections may have been present in the U.S. in December 2019, about a month earlier than the countrys first official case on Jan. 19, 2020, the CDC scientists wrote.

These findings are yet another illustration of how complicated it is to solve the scientific puzzle of virus source tracing.

Historically, the place where a virus was first reported often turned out not to be that of its origin. The HIV infection, for instance, was first reported by the United States, yet it might also be possible that the virus did not owe its origin to the United States. And more and more evidence proves that the Spanish Flu did not originate in Spain.

As far as COVID-19 is concerned, being the first to report the virus does not mean that the virus had its origin in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

Regarding these studies, the World Health Organization (WHO) said it will take every detection in France, in Spain, in Italy very seriously, and we will examine each and every one of them.

We will not stop from knowing the truth on the origin of the virus, but based on science, without politicizing it or trying to create tension in the process, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said late November 2020.

Posted on

SpaceXs upgraded Dragon cargo returns to Earth with scientific experiments

(Xinhua)14:06, January 14, 2021

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) — SpaceXs upgraded Dragon cargo spacecraft splashed down at 8:26 p.m. East Time Wednesday (0126 GMT Thursday) off the Florida coast, completing the companys 21st contracted cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA.

The spacecraft carried more than 4,400 pounds (about 1,996 kg) of valuable scientific experiments and other cargo back to Earth.

The upgraded Dragon cargo undocked from the ISS on Tuesday. It is the first undocking of a U.S. commercial cargo craft from the International Docking Adapter on the stations space-facing port of the Harmony module.

Previous cargo Dragon spacecraft was attached to and removed from the ISS using the stations robotic Canadarm2, according to NASA.

This upgraded Dragon cargo transported significantly more science back to Earth than possible in previous Dragon capsules, and is the first space station cargo capsule to splash down off the coast of Florida, according to NASA.

In addition, it is the first time science returned from the ISS through NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida since the retirement of the space shuttle.

Splashing down off the coast of Florida enables quick transportation of the science aboard the capsule to Kennedy Space Centers Space Station Processing Facility, according to NASA.

Dragon cargo was launched on Dec. 6 last year on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center, arriving at the ISS just over 24 hours later and achieving the first autonomous docking of a U.S. commercial cargo resupply spacecraft.

The spacecraft delivered more than 6,400 pounds of hardware, research investigations and crew supplies.