China announces anti-dumping duties on chemical from Japan, India -- China's Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday it has decided to impose anti-dumping duties on ortho dichlorobenzene (ODCB) imported from Japan and India as of January 23. The domestic industry has been subject to substantial damages due to the dumping of these products, the ministry said in a final ruling after anti-dumping investigations into the imports. From January 23, duties will be collected at rates ranging from 31.9 percent to 70.4 percent for a five-year period, the ministry said on its website. After receiving complaints from the domestic industry, the ministry launched the anti-dumping investigations in January 2018, and a preliminary ruling was unveiled in October 2018.
China exceeds 2018 annual housing renovation target -- China exceeded the housing renovation target for rundown urban areas last year, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on January 22. Construction began on 6.27 million homes in dilapidated areas in 2018, accounting for 107.4 percent of the annual target, said NDRC spokesperson Meng Wei at a press conference. China will launch a new three-year renovation plan to address housing in rundown urban areas, with construction on 5.8 million units to start by the end of 2018, according to the government work report last year.
China to step up fight on air pollution -- China's top environmental watchdog has vowed to succeed in air pollution control this year by enhancing the management of diesel-powered trucks while further reducing industrial emissions. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment will continue this year to implement the 2018-20 air pollution control plan, which aims to control bulk coal consumption, poorly managed polluting enterprises and industrial boilers, and minimize the emissions of the steel industry.
China to forge international coalition for green Belt & Road development -- China plans to initiate an international coalition for green development under the Belt and Road Initiative in 2019, said Chinese Ecology and Environment Minister Li Ganjie during a work meeting concluded on January 19 in Beijing. China has successfully delivered all the obligatory targets of environmental protection set for 2018 and stayed in line with the timetable outlined by the 13th Five-Year Plan to sustain the environmental improvements. Li called for more efforts on environmental protection in 2019 on the basis of achievements last year.
China slashes ship emissions in three busy water areas -- China's three busy water bodies have recorded "considerable reductions" in ship emissions since 2015 when vessels there were put under stricter emissions limits. Oxysulfide and particulate emissions from ships in the Bohai Sea area, the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta in 2018 were 33 percent and 22 percent lower than those of 2015, said Cao Desheng, director of the maritime affairs bureau of the Ministry of Transport. The reductions were achieved following actions to cut ships' fuel consumption and pollution in the regions, Cao said Sunday at a maritime affairs conference in the city of Shaoguan, Guangdong Province.
China unveils pilot "group-buying" plan to cut drug prices -- China has unveiled a pilot medicine procurement program to be tried in 11 major cities to lower drug prices and reduce the burden on patients. Details of the program were released by the General Office of the State Council on January 17. As a major reform of the current centralized procurement system, the program asks public hospitals in the pilot cities to purchase 60 to 70 percent of their total annual demand for certain medicines in order to get a lower price. Previously, the bidding usually only determined the price, but could not guarantee the purchase quantity. The pilot program aims to cut drug prices, reduce medicine costs for patients and transaction costs for enterprises, and improve the "ecology" of the pharmaceutical industry, said the official document. The 11 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhe
China issue plan to enhance utilization of clean energy -- China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and National Energy Administration (NEA) jointly issued a three-year action plan on clean energy consumption for its full-scale utilization by 2020. It is planned that in 2020, average utilization rate for wind power should reach about 95 percent, while the wind power curtailment rate is controlled at a reasonable level, around 5 percent; the utilization rate of photovoltaic power is higher than 95 percent, and photovoltaic abandoning rate is below 5 percent; and national water utilization rate reaches over 95 percent; as for nuclear power, the nation shall achieve consumption supportability and security.
China continues strengthening ivory ban -- Many positive results have been obtained since China implemented a total ban on ivory processing and sales in its domestic market in January last year, according to scholars and relevant institutions. A new public campaign has been launched nationwide by China Customs and the National Forestry and Grasslands Administration (NFGA) with non-profit organizations WildAid and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), aiming to reinforce the ivory ban in tourism ahead of the upcoming holiday season. "China has set an example for the world in wildlife protection and shown the determination of a responsible stakeholder on the global stage," said Dr. Sun Quanhui, science officer of World Animal Protection, a United Nations general consultative organization. Since domestic sales of ivory were banned in China, there's been a clear decline in illegal sales and demand for ivory on the mainland, according to surveys released by TRAFFIC and WWF in September 2018.
Investment in Beijing's 5G network expected to top RMB30 bln by 2022 -- Beijing municipality, capital of China, on January 22 released an action plan for 5G development in 2019-2022, aiming to boost more than 30 billion yuan investment in 5G network by 2022. Operators in Beijing will invest more than 30 billion yuan in the 5G network by 2022 to achieve 5G network coverage in the capital functional core areas, subsidiary administrative center, and important places in the city, according to the plan. Beijing-based scientific research institutes and enterprises will strive to make breakthroughs in key technologies and processes for the mass production of medium and high frequency components above 6 GHz.
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