HIGHLAND PLANTATION

Villagers sow highland barley seeds with agricultural machinery in Chabalang Village in Lhasa， Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China， on April 22.

Tibet is the only region in the world that cultivates highland barley on a large scale.

Testing Time

A worker in the disease prevention and control center in Changxing， a county in Zhejiang Province in east China， passes samples ready for testing for COVID-19 on April 21. As production has resumed and some students have returned to school recently， the center is doing more tests for the safety of workers and students.

Revised Figures

The city of Wuhan in central China revised its numbers of confi rmed novel coronavirus disease（COVID-19） cases and deaths on April 17.

The total number of cases by the end of April 16 was revised up by 325 to 50，333. The number of fatalities went up by 1，290 to 3，869.

The Wuhan municipal headquarters for COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control said the revisions were made in accordance with related laws and regulations.

One reason for the data revision is that the surging number of patients at the early stage of the epidemic overwhelmed medical resources and the capacity of medical institutions. Some patients died at home without being treated in hospitals.

An offi cial of the headquarters told the media that a team was established in late March for collecting and analyzing epidemic-related big data and making epidemiological investigations.

The team used information from online systems and all epidemicrelated locations to ensure the accuracy of the facts and fi gures.

Epidemic Control

The Chinese health authority has scaled up testing and treatment for COVID-19 infections in border areas as the country faces a rising risk of imported cases.

With an over 22，000-km land border dotted with 91 land ports， along with a large number of side routes， China faces a high risk of COVID-19 imports via its land border.

However， the medical service capacity in some border regions is relatively insuffi cient for epidemic control， Guo Yanhong， an offi cial with the National Health Commission （NHC）， said at a press conference on April 21.

The NHC has instructed the nine provincial-level regions with land ports to make targeted response plans to intensify containment efforts and prepare for imported cases， Guo said.

Medical professionals and epidemic containment experts have been dispatched to some border areas facing a mounting challenge of imported cases.

Beijing Patents

Beijing ranks fi rst in China and is nearly 10 times the national average in the number of invention patents per 10，000 people.

At the end of 2019， the number of invention patents per 10，000 people in the capital city reached 132， according to a press conference of the Beijing Intellectual Property Offi ce on April 21.

The number of patent applications in Beijing reached 226，100 in 2019， up 7.1 percent year on year， Pan Xinsheng， spokesperson and deputy director of the offi ce， said. He added that of the total， 129，900 were invention patents， up 10.4 percent year on year.

Mean while， Beijing saw 546，600 trademark applications. Its number of copyright registrations reached 1 million in the period， the top in the country， including 202，700 software copyright registrations.

The municipal cultural law enforcement department confi scated 22，000 pirated products and destroyed more than 1.5 million pirated books last year. Courts in Beijing handled 80，165 intellectual property lawsuits with 79，769 cases settled， Pan said.

New Cargo Flight

A Boeing 787 wide-body plane loaded with parcels took off from Shenzhen in south China for Tel Aviv in Israel on April 21， marking the opening of the weekly cross-border e-commerce charter cargo fl ight between the two cities.

Hainan Airlines launched a direct fl ight between Shenzhen and Tel Aviv in 2019. Partnering with Cainiao， e-commerce giant Alibabas logistics subsidiary， and Guangzhou Hayonex Logistics Co.， the airline transformed the passenger plane into a cargo plane for the service.

According to the Shenzhen airport， besides the original cargo hold， the passenger cabin with over 200 seats has been turned into cargo space， adding another 10 tons of cargo capacity.

The parcels were mainly daily products ordered online by Israelis， the airport said.

Vaccination Work

China has maintained a vaccination rate of above 90 percent for vaccines under the national immunization program， according to a health offi cial on April 21.

Currently， there are 15 free vaccines for children. China is expanding the variety of vaccines under its immunization program， Wang Bin， an offi cial with the NHC， said at a press conference in Beijing.

Noting that people now have a deeper understanding of vaccinesfunction， Wang stressed that vaccination is the most effective and economical way of preventing infectious diseases.

Over the years， China has eliminated polio and signifi cantly reduced the incidence of hepatitis B， she said， adding that the incidence of measles dropped to a record low in 2019.

Intelligent Agriculture

A worker in the modern agriculture hi-tech demonstration zone in Shouguang， a city in Shandong Province in east China， uses a mobile phone to control a piece of equipment on April 21. The city， known for vegetable production， uses equipment running on artifi cial intelligence in its greenhouses for better yield.

Construction Resumes

Beijing Customs has set up a special workgroup to speed up the customs clearance of imported equipment and materials for the construction of the Universal Beijing Resort amid the novel coronavirus epidemic.

Under construction in the east of Beijing， the fi rst phase of the project includes the Universal Studios theme park， the Universal CityWalk commercial complex and two resort hotels. It is scheduled to receive visitors in 2021.

Universal Beijing Resort announced last October that its Beijing theme park will have seven theme lands， including Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Each land will have a mix of attractions， shows， shops and restaurants.

Childrens Library

Inspired by French impressionist Claude Monets masterpiece Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lilies， Shanghai is building a new library for children， which is expected to open in the later half of 2021.

With a history of more than half a century， the Shanghai Childrens Library started to construct a new building in 2018 and saw the steel-structured facility capped on April 20， one week ahead of schedule.

The new arch-shaped library， located in a large park and with an area of 16，000 square meters， will have more than 800，000 books.

The interior design was inspired by Argentine writer and poet Jorge Luis Borges Library of Babel， a short story that envisions a universe in the form of a vast library.

Quality Control

Customs employees check goods for export at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport on April 21. Shanghai has strengthened inspection of medical supplies for export， intercepting products found to be below standard.

Automobile City

A staff member works at the production line of a transmission company in Baoji， Shaanxi Province in northwest China， on April 15. In recent years， the automobile industry in Baoji has registered remarkable growth， with 11 automobile enterprises and more than 300 auto parts companies based in the area.

IP Progress

The Intellectual Property （IP） Court of the Supreme Peoples Court， or Chinas top court， has made headway in promoting the unifi cation of judicial standards for technologyrelated IP cases through its work in 2019， according to an annual report of the IP Court released on April 16.

“Unifying the standards for adjudicating patent and other technology-related IP cases is the primary goal of the IP Court，” the report read.

Offi cially unveiled on January 1， 2019 as the fi rst specialized IP Court at the highest level in the judicial hierarchy worldwide， the IP Court last year accepted 1，945 technologyrelated IP cases and concluded 1，433 cases， with a closing rate of 73.7 percent.

The court has made a number of judgments that will serve as a reference and model for future adjudication.

The IP Court functions as the apex court for appeals on patents， monopolies and other technologyrelated IP cases from across China. It also has the mission to unify judicial standards for technology-related IP cases.

Speaking of the characteristics of the cases tried by the IP Court in 2019， the report noted that the cases involve a wide range of technologies， the trial period is short and the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese and foreign parties are equally protected.

Online Job Fair

A special online job fair has provided over 10 million job vacancies amid the countrys efforts to revive job markets hit hard by the novel coronavirus epidemic.

By April 16， more than 11.62 million job postings from 1.24 million companies had been offered to applicants at the special online job fair， which was launched on March 20 and will last until the end of June， the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said on April 16.

The job fair has rolled out industry-based recruitment sessions to improve the job-searching skills of candidates. It held special recruitment sessions for the foreign trade， technology and air travel sectors from April 10 to 16.

It also provides online vocational guidance and training. More information can be found at the ministrys website and the offi cial site of the fair.

Live-streaming on Tea

Several e-commerce staff live-stream the process of tea picking at a tea base in Yichang， Hubei Province in central China， on April 16. The ecological tea park entered its peak season for tea picking and local tea companies are cooperating with e-commerce platforms to sell products through live-streaming， so that consumers can watch picking and teamaking.

Import Expo

Dozens of global enterprises have confi rmed participation in the newly created public health and epidemic prevention section in the third China International Import Expo （CIIE） slated for November， the organizers said on April 21.

The area， set inside the Medical Equipment & Healthcare Products Exhibition Hall， will showcase cutting-edge products and technologies， ranging from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation（ECMO） machines used in COVID-19 treatments to ventilators， protective equipment and test kits.

The new area is dedicated to the latest achievements in global epidemic prevention， Sun Chenghai， Deputy Director of the CIIE Bureau， said during a promotional session in Shanghai.

Dozens of companies from countries and regions including the United States， Germany and Switzerland， have already booked over 2，800 square meters of exhibition space.

Pavol Dobrocky with pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim said the companys participation in last years CIIE “received a fruitful return” with the signing of 200-million-yuan （$28.24-million） contract of intent.

This year， the companys booth will be expanded from 400 square meters to 600 square meters， including a 100-square-meter area for anti-epidemic innovation research and development.

“China has strategic importance to the company， and we have a long-term commitment to improving health outcomes and addressing unmet medical needs in China，”Dobrocky said， adding that the company aims to invest 188 million euros （$203 million） in China in the next fi ve years.

Ninety percent of space in the Medical and Healthcare Products Exhibition Hall has been reserved， with nearly 60 leading pharmaceutical and medical companies confi rming their participation， according to the CIIE Bureau.

The booked exhibition area is more than 60 percent of the planned space.

The CIIE is the fi rst dedicated import exhibition in the world. The third CIIE will take place in Shanghai from November 5 to 10.

Hi-Tech Zone

Workers at the Huayan Tunnel in the hi-tech zone of Chongqing Municipality， southwest China， on April 15. While ensuring prevention and control of the epidemic， Chongqing Hi-Tech Zone is striving to accelerate the construction of transportation， communications and other infrastructure to improve the level of regional connectivity.

Lending Policies

Chinese authorities on April 16 released a circular to enhance lending for startups and individual businesses to cushion the blow from the novel coronavirus disease（COVID-19） outbreak.

Starting from April 16 to December 31， individual businesses from hard-hit industries that temporarily lost their source of income due to the epidemic， taxi and ridehailing drivers who took out loans to purchase vehicles and other eligible enterprises can apply for the guaranteed loans， a circular jointly released by the Ministry of Finance （MOF）， the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Peoples Bank of China said.

The threshold for guaranteed loans will be lowered and the maximum loan amount will be increased， according to the circular.

It also urged fi nancial institutions to grant reasonable loan extensions to small， micro and individual businesses and cut interest rates.

China issued 100 billion yuan（$14.14 billion） of guaranteed loans for startups in 2019， data from the MOF showed.

As the epidemic wanes and policy support intensifi es， loan issuance is expected to soar 80 percent in 2020. It is enough to support 1 million individual businesses and 10，000 small and micro fi rms， up 43 percent and 52 percent from last year， respectively， MOF said.