BUILDING A SHIELD

Lee Cheng-hung， President of the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland， receives a dose of COVID-19 vaccine at an inoculation site in Shanghai on April 19. The city started vaccinating Taiwan compatriots aged 18 to 75 that day.

According to the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council， Taiwan compatriots bearing residence permits or medical insurance certificates can register for vaccines in their place of residence based on the principles of voluntary application and informed consent， the same policy and procedure governing mainlanders.

New Metro Line

A welding machine works on the tracks of Metro Line 18 in Guangzhou， Guangdong Province， on April 20. Track construction was completed that day. Running from Wanqingsha to Xiancun Village， the metro line will be the fastest within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area， with a maximum designed speed of 160 km per hour.

Sino-African Cooperation

The second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo， set to take place in Changsha， Hunan Province， from September 26 to 28 this year， will focus on key areas such as trade and investment promotion， agricultural technology， energy and power， medical health， infrastructure and financing.

Centered on the themes of“new beginning， new opportunity， new vision，” the event aims to promote in-depth China-Africa economic and trade cooperation and the China （Hunan） Pilot Free Trade Zone （FTZ）. Following the release of a master plan for the FTZ last year， construction of the zone has been accelerated.

Ren Hongbin， Assistant Minister of Commerce， said the event intends to demonstrate Chinas confidence and determination to further open up， share the countrys development dividends， and enhance cooperation with African countries in the new era.

He Baoxiang， Vice Governor of Hunan Province， said that ever since the expo settled in Hunan in 2019， the province has made efforts to turn the Hunan FTZ into a leading pilot zone for in-depth cooperation between China and Africa.

The Hunan FTZ focuses on developing a world-class advanced manufacturing cluster， as well as an international investment and trade corridor.

Mamadou Ndiaye， Ambassador of Senegal to China， said that the “Hunan model” promotes the development of innovation demonstration parks through China-Africa economic and trade collaboration， providing African countries with an important opportunity to gain tangible benefits.

Driverless Routes

The city of Suzhou in Jiangsu Province features the countrys longest driverless bus routes， totaling about 15.3 km， reported Xinhua News Agency on April 21.

A recent operation report on Chinas first unmanned bus route using 5G technology was jointly released by the Chinese branch of market intelligence company CB Insights， China Mobile and another Beijing-based technology firm.

In October 2020， China launched its first driverless bus route using the 5G network in Suzhou and offered free public transportation to the citys commuters.

Currently， Suzhou has four driverless bus routes. So far， unmanned buses running along the citys first route had covered a total mileage of more than 15，000 km and served more than 11，000 passengers， with an average daily passenger count of about 116， said the report.

Currently， four countries —China， the United States， Finland and Germany — are operating unmanned buses on public roads. The total length of such bus routes in China has reached 54.6 km， the longest in the world.

It is estimated that China will increase the number of driverless bus routes to over 60 by 2022， with their total length exceeding 300 km.

Hydropower Station

The last four electricity-generation units of the Wudongde Hydropower Station have entered their final assembly stage and are scheduled to be fully operational by July 1， Xinhua News Agency reported on April 19. Spanning the Jinsha River（another name for the upper stretches of the Yangtze River）， the station is set to become Chinas fourth-largest and the worlds seventh-largest hydropower project upon completion.

With construction starting in December 2015， the stations first batch of electricity-generation units began generating power in June 2020. A total of eight units thus far are fully operational. The stations total installed capacity is 10.2 million kW.

“The key performance indicators have reached or exceeded the national standards since the units were put into operation，” said Wang Jintao， head of the Wudongde power plant under the China Three Gorges Corporation.

Wang added that as of midnight on April 18， the station had generated some 20.2 billion kWh of electricity， which can replace about 6.27 million tons of standard coal and reduce carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide emissions by approximately 15.68 million tons and 53，000 tons， respectively.

The rare animal has been released into a fast-flowing and fish-rich stream in the upper reaches of the Jinghe River.

The Chinese giant salamander， a national second-class protected species in China， is listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species.

Opening Up Services

The State Council has approved plans to expand the opening up of the service sector in four regions.

According to a statement released on April 20， Tianjin， Shanghai and Chongqing municipalities， together with the southern island province of Hainan， can proceed with their comprehensive opening-up trials in the services sector over the next three years.

Local authorities are urged to carry out various explorations under the principle of secured risk control， with the goal of creating replicable practices in the development of a modern industrial system as well as a higher-level open economy.

China aims to open up its service sector in a well-regulated manner， launch more comprehensive trials， and formulate a negative list for cross-border trade in services， Premier Li Keqiang said in a government work report in March.

5G Network

China has initially built the worlds largest 5G mobile network， the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology（MIIT） said on April 19.

The country had 792，000 5G base stations by the end of February， with the number of mobile terminals connected to the network reaching 260 million， Vice Minister Liu Liehong told a press conference.

The ministry also estimated 5G mobile phones would account for 80 percent of smartphone shipments in China in the second half of the year.

More than 600，000 5G base stations are expected to be built across China in 2021， the MIIT said.

Last year， 5G directly generated 810.9 billion yuan（$125 billion） in gross economic output， according to a white paper on 5G development and its economic and social impact， released by the China Academy of Information and Communication Technology.

Futures Exchange

A futures exchange was launched in the southern city of Guangzhou， Guangdong Province， on April 19， the China Securities Regulatory Commission said.

Amid efforts to advance the multi-level capital market， the exchange will contribute to the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as well as the cooperation among Belt and Road Initiative participating countries， the commission said on its website.

In the future， it will better serve the real economy and boost green development， according to the commission.

Low -Carbon Shift

Efforts to cut carbon emissions will drive the upgrade of Chinas construction sector， benefiting leading companies in the building material and construction industries， Fitch Ratings said in a report.

Decarbonization may lead to a temporary increase in investment and costs， but corporate champions could benefit from the improvement in terms of operational efficiency， mitigation of regulatory risk， and lower capital costs in the long run， according to the rating agency.

In contrast， the credit profiles of smaller companies that perform poorly on the environmental front may deteriorate due to potential regulatory intervention and higher operational and financing costs， it added.

The building material and construction sectors generate over half of Chinas carbon emissions. The report said measures， including the launch of the national carbon trading market later this year， will provide economic incentives for companies to proactively reduce emissions.

China has vowed to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and reach carbon neutrality before 2060， as well as set new targets in its development plan for the next five years to improve the industrial structure and maximize the use of clean energy.

Amid the efforts， a larger number of cement， steel and construction firms will tap into the green bond market to finance their low-carbon transition， according to the report.

Fund Size

Privately offered funds managed 17.22 trillion yuan（$2.65 trillion） by the end of March， according to the Asset Management Association of China （AMAC）， an industry body supervised by the national securities regulator.

The figure went up 58.8 billion yuan （$9 billion） or 0.34 percent from the end of the previous month， AMAC data showed.

China had 102，852 privately offered funds at the end of March， up 2，084 or 2.07 percent month on month， according to the association.

By the end of March， the number of institutions that managed these funds dropped 0.37 percent month on month to 24，533.

Upbeat Prospects

Businesses in the GuangdongHong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area were confident in their performance in the first quarter （Q1） of the year and remained upbeat about their growth prospects in the following three-month period， a report from Standard Chartered showed.

The scale of business confidence of companies operating in the Greater Bay Area hit 53 in Q1， above the 50 neutral benchmark and 50.2 in the fourth quarter（Q4） of 2020， according to quarterly surveys carried out by Standard Chartered and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

Firms expect an even stronger second quarter （Q2）， with the expectations index for business activity shooting up to 62.7 after experiencing a small dip to 54.1 in Q4.

Manufacturers in the regions were among the firms that showed the most optimism， with retail and wholesale sector businesses coming in second， according to the report.

The worldwide vaccine rollout likely fueled the broadbased improvement， the report further read， adding that a robust performance in Q2 could offer more cushion for policymakers to taper stimulus.

Gas Output

Natural gas output rose 13.1 percent year on year， to 53.3 billion cubic meters in Q1 of the year， data from the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） showed on April 17.

Compared with the same period in 2019， the figure improved 23.4 percent， putting the average quarterly growth for 2020 and 2021 at 11.1 percent.

In March alone， Chinas natural gas output came in at 18.5 billion cubic meters， up 12.1 percent year on year， and the average daily production came in at 600 million cubic meters.

The countrys natural gas imports in Q1 surged 19.6 percent year on year， to 29.39 million tons， according to the NBS.

NUMBERS