China determined to rectify irregularities in land reclamation -- China's coastal regions were asked to rectify improper and illegal land reclamation practices after inspections exposed issues that could cause damage to marine ecosystems. Inspectors from the State Oceanic Administration reported issues to 11 provincial-level regions including Shanghai and Guangdong, urging them to correct problems such as a high vacancy rate of reclaimed land and an improper project approval process. Since 2002, Tianjin municipality has reclaimed 27,850 hectares of land, yet the vacancy land amounted to 19,202 hectares, resulting in a vacancy rate of 69 percent. The vacancy rate in other regions including East China's Zhejiang province and Shandong province was also found to be above 40 percent.
China issues white paper on ecological progress on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau -- China issued a white paper about ecological progress on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which is a key eco-safety barrier in China and Asia, and a focus of the country's drive to promote ecological progress. "The Communist Party of China and the Chinese government have taken ecological conservation as a top priority, and regard protection of the Plateau as a vital task for China's survival and development," said the white paper published by the State Council Information Office, titled "Ecological Progress on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau." Now a system in this regard is being improved step by step on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with solid achievements in improving ecological conservation and environment quality, it said. Steady growth has been witnessed in the local green industry with a system of technological support in place, and an eco-culture is taking shape to showcase the Plateau's exemplary role in ecological development, it added.
China strengthens urban rail transit planning supervision -- China will step up efforts in strengthening the supervision of urban rail transit planning and construction to rein in local government debt risk. The development scale of urban rail transit should match the city's real demand, and the construction scale with its financial ability, according to a guideline released by the general office of the State Council. The fiscal revenue and GDP of the city qualified to apply for subway construction were raised from 10 billion yuan (USD1.49 billion) and 100 billion yuan to 30 billion yuan and 300 billion yuan, respectively, said the guideline. The application and review process will be strictly supervised, and risk control will be strengthened to guard against local government debt risk, according to the guideline.
China to regulate tax payment in film industry -- China's tax authority said on July 13 it had ordered local authorities to reinforce tax payment and management for the film and television industry. Companies and personnel in the sector should honestly declare and pay due taxes as required by law, the State Administration of Taxation said in a statement. Taxpayers in the industry should stick to the actual amount when issuing value-added tax invoices, and must not issue or let others issue invoices of a false amount, the statement said. Tax authorities will take back the tax rebate from taxpayers if the reduction they received is found to be against the rules, it added.
B&R research branch of China Association of Higher Education established July 14 -- The Belt and Road (B&R) research branch of China Association of Higher Education established on July 14. 546 representatives from 351 Chinese colleges and universities attended the founding meeting held at Yunnan University. The B&R research branch is jointly founded by higher education institutions including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Yunnan University, etc. Its functions include conducting academic conferences related to the B&R, promoting the B&R construction, providing policy consultancy, information service and special training, as well as organizing B&R researches.
China’s Beijing to launch third-phase plan for dev. of southern area -- China's Beijing on Wednesday approved a third-phase plan for accelerated development of the city's southern area from 2018 to 2020, the Xinhua-run cnstock.com reported on July 12. After the first-phase development plan from 2010 to 2012 and the second-phase plan from 2013 to 2015, Beijing plans to gradually build its southern area into a pilot area for high-quality development through the third-phase development plan. Fengtai District, Fangshan District, Daxing District and Beijing Economic-Technological Development Zone will be covered under the third-phase development plan. It is reported that the southern area of Beijing strives to increase its forest coverage to 32.1 percent through the implementation of the plan. Meanwhile, a cross-regional transportation system will be gradually established and the level of the public services will be significantly improved in the southern area during 2018-2020.
N. China's Hebei to actively promote int’l capacity co-op under B&R -- North China's Hebei Province has recently unveiled a plan to actively promote implementation of the international capacity cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative. Under the plan, by 2020, the Province will strive to bring its overseas steel, cement and glass capacities to 12 million metric tons (tonnes), 4 million tonnes and 5 million weight cases, respectively. The Province will focus on ten industries including steel, cement, glass, photovoltaic, electric power, equipment manufacturing, textile and garment, agriculture, infrastructure and high-tech to promote international capacity cooperation.
China approves 21 national modern agricultural industrial parks -- China has approved to build 21 national modern agricultural industrial parks, according to an joint announcement by China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Finance on July 16. Establishment of the national modern agricultural industrial parks is an effort to promote the supply-side structural reform in the agriculture industry and accelerate the agricultural modernization, said the ministries. Chinese central government will give appropriate fiscal support to the parks judging from their planned area, the number of agricultural population in the park, and the local financial support, said a document released by the two ministries earlier in March 2017.
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