Zhai Zhigang （center）， Wang Yaping （right） and Ye Guangfu， the three astronauts participating in the Shenzhou-13 mission， meet with the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on October 14， two days ahead of their scheduled takeoff.
　　The trio will stay in orbit aboard China’s space station for six months.

Digital Payment

　　A visitor uses his mobile wallet to pay for his purchase at the 2021 Global Digital Trade Conference and Wuhan （Hankoubei） Commodities Fair in Wuhan， capital of Hubei Province， on October 12.

Inclusive Universities

　　The China Disabled Persons’Federation said on October 11 that 57，477 students with disabilities gained admission to colleges and universities in the 2016-20 period， up 50.11 percent from the 2011-15 period.
　　A further 9，966 students with disabilities were enrolled at institutions of special higher education between 2016 and 2020， an increase of 47.54 percent from the previous five-year period.
　　China has seen a steady rise in employment among college graduates with disabilities， with one-on-one services provided by more than 2，700 employment institutions readily available， according to the federation.

Flood in Shanxi

　　Continuous rainstorms have left 15 people dead and three others missing in Shanxi Province， according to a press conference held on October 12 by the provincial government. People’s basic needs are being guaranteed and daily production and order are being restored quickly， officials said at the conference.
　　From October 2 to 7， Shanxi experienced the strongest autumn flood on record. Continuous rainfall has affected nearly 1.76 million residents across the province， and 120，100 people have been relocated.
　　About 238，460 hectares of crops have been damaged， 37，700 houses collapsed or seriously damaged， causing direct economic losses of 5.03 billion yuan （$780 million）.
　　Relevant departments in Shanxi quickly responded. As of October 11， 30 blocked sections of expressways across the province had resumed traffic， while 19 sections of highway and 2，800 sections of rural road reopened.

Fewer Telecom Frauds

　　The Ministry of Public Security said on October 11 that China saw fewer cases involving fraudulent activities committed via telecommunications or the Internet in the months of June， July and August compared to the same three months last year. 　　According to the ministry， the continuous drop in cases mainly attributes to a national campaign targeting such illegal activities， launched last October.
　　A total of six nationwide operations have been carried out to crack down on criminal gangs and to eliminate the use of subscriber identity module （SIM） and bank cards for fraudulent purposes.
　　The operations have blocked the channels used by gangs to trade in SIM and bank cards， significantly increasing the cost of committing fraud and reining in the number of such cases.
　　Chinese police have dismantled 27，000 syndicates involved in SIM or bank card fraud since last October.
　　Some 450，000 individuals suspected of being involved in these illegal activities have been punished， as well as over 1，000 individuals who worked for financial institutions and telecommunication companies， the ministry said.

Bamboo Festival

　　China has more than 6.67 million hectares of bamboo forests with an annual output value of nearly 320 billion yuan （$49.6 billion）， said Huang Zhengqiu， an official with the National Forestry and Grassland Administration， at a press conference on the 11th China Bamboo Cultural Festival on October 12.
　　China’s bamboo forest area， bamboo accumulation， quality of bamboo products， profits and exports are among the top in the world， said Huang.
　　The 11th China Bamboo Cultural Festival ran from October 19 to 21 in Yibin， a city in Sichuan Province.
　　This year’s festival was attended by representatives from industry management departments， key bamboo producing areas， scientific research institutions， enterprises， and international professionals， who discussed the development of the bamboo industry.

Wildlife Smuggling Probes

　　Chinese customs investigated 923 criminal cases of smuggling endangered wildlife between January 2019 and September 2021， the General Administration of Customs of China （GACC） said on October 9.
　　The probes involved over 1，550 tons of endangered wildlife and related products， said the GACC.
　　As one of the world’s most biodiverse countries and one of the first nations to sign the UN Convention on Biological Diversity， China has always attached great importance to conserving biodiversity.
　　Chinese customs has initiated or participated in many international joint actions， improving long-term cooperation mechanisms to combat the smuggling of endangered wildlife and its products.

Ice Lolly Jolly

　　Exhibitors display ice cream products on the opening day of Ice Cream China 2021， a trade show held in Tianjin on October 11. The big launch attracted more than 400 exhibitors and nearly 10，000 buyers.

Entrepreneurial Support

　　China will renew its efforts to support entrepreneurship and innovation by college students， according to a set of guidelines released by the General Office of the State Council on October 12.
　　Hailing college students as a vibrant force for entrepreneurship and innovation， the guidelines called for measures to create a more favorable environment for business startups and innovative projects launched by college students.
　　According to the guidelines， relevant departments should enhance intellectual property protection for such innovative projects. The report also stressed the importance of improving financial support for college entrepreneurs and innovators by exploring new funding channels and introducing favorable financial policies.
　　The guidelines also noted the need to improve entrepreneurship and innovation education， urging colleges to devote more time and attention to these areas in their curriculums.

Social Organizations

　　China is expected to see 12.5 million full-time staff members working in social organizations by 2025， according to a new fiveyear development plan （2021-25） made public by the Ministry of Civil Affairs on October 8.
　　The development plan for social organizations mandates the number of registered social organizations that should operate in China and also requires the combined fixed assets of social organizations to reach 590 billion yuan （$91.5 billion）.
　　Over 80 percent of social organizations will have sound legal-person governance structures and no poor credibility records by 2025， read the plan.
　　According to official statistics， social organizations countrywide had created jobs for more than 10.6 million people between 2016 and 2020. They have also implemented more than 92，000 poverty alleviation projects with investments worth 124.5 billion yuan （$19.3 billion）， and participated in COVID-19 containment and business resumption projects.

Artistic Strokes

　　Students practice Chinese calligraphy after class at Da’er Primary School in Renze District of Xingtai， Hebei Province， on October 8.

Foreign Trade

　　China’s total imports and exports expanded 22.7 percent year on year to 28.33 trillion yuan （$4.38 trillion） in the first three quarters of 2021， official data showed on October 13.
　　The figure marked an increase of 23.4 percent from the preepidemic level in 2019， according to the General Administration of Customs of China.
　　Both exports and imports continued double-digit growth in the period， surging 22.7 percent and 22.6 percent from a year earlier， respectively.
　　The growth of trade value with its top three trading partners—the Association of Southeast Asian Nations， the European Union and the United States—stood at 21.1 percent， 20.5 percent and 24.9 percent， respectively.
　　China’s trade with countries along the Belt and Road routes rose 23.4 percent year on year during the same period， while that with members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership climbed 19.3 percent， customs data showed.
　　In September alone， the country’s imports and exports rose 15.4 percent year on year， 3.5 percentage points slower than in the previous month， data further demonstrated.

Pricing Reform

　　The National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC） announced an improved pricing mechanism for coal-fired power on October 12 as part of the efforts to deepen market-oriented pricing reform in the sector.
　　The market-based electricity transaction prices are adjusted in principle to a range of 20-percent fluctuation in either direction， compared with the current ceiling of 10 percent and the floor of 15 percent from the benchmark price， according to the commission.
　　The prices for high energy- consuming enterprises are not restricted by the ceiling of 20-percent upward fluctuation.
　　All local governments should give priority to the supply of low-cost power for residents and agricultural production， the NDRC said.

Auto Market

　　Auto sales across the country rose 8.7 percent year on year to 18.62 million units in the first nine months of 2021， data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed on October 12.
　　Sales of passenger vehicles reached 14.86 million units， up 11 percent from a year earlier， according to the data.
　　In September alone， auto sales totaled around 2.07 million units， down 19.6 percent from the same period in 2020. 　　China’s auto production rose 7.5 percent year on year to 18.24 million units in the first nine months of the year.
　　Its auto exports of 1.36 million units represented a year-onyear growth of 120 percent in the same period.

Meituan Fined

　　The State Administration for Market Regulation （SAMR） on October 8 imposed a fine of 3.442 billion yuan （$534 million） on Internet giant Meituan for its monopoly conduct.
　　The fine accounts for about 3 percent of Meituan’s domestic sales revenue of 114.7 billion yuan （$17.8 billion） in 2020.
　　The SAMR began investigating the case in April. It found that since 2018， Meituan had abused its dominant market position in domestic food delivery services， forcing merchants to sign exclusive cooperation agreements.
　　The company had also taken multiple punitive measures such as charging merchant deposits and employing technological tactics involving data and algorithms， pressuring those merchants to “pick one out of two” to exclude competitors and limit market competition.
　　Those malpractices have weakened the innovative dynamics and vitality of the platform， as well as harmed the interests of the platform merchants and consumers， according to the SAMR.
　　The market watchdog has ordered Meituan to cease all illegal activities and return nearly 1.29 billion yuan （$200 million） in deposits paid by merchants to cooperate exclusively with the company’s food ordering and delivery platform.
　　The company should also comprehensively rectify its misconduct， including improving the commission charging mechanism and algorithm rules， safeguarding the legitimate interests of small and mediumsized catering businesses on the platform， and strengthening the protection of the lawful rights and interests of all delivery personnel， the SAMR said.
　　The company should submit reports on the improvements over the next three years and accomplish regulated， innovative， healthy and sustainable development， it added.

IPv6 Infrastructure

　　China has built a worldleading infrastructure for IPv6， or Internet Protocol version 6， as the nation’s 4G， 5G and fixed broadband networks have all been upgraded to support it， the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology （MIIT） said on October 11.
　　IPv6 is the most recent version of the communications protocol that provides an identification and location system for computers on networks and routes traffic across the Internet. It allows for much higher theoretical limits on the number of IP addresses than the current IPv4 system and is better designed for the Internet of Things era. 　　Han Xia， chief engineer of the MIIT， said the number of applied IPv6 address resources in China now ranks first in the world.

Green Finance

　　Tibet Autonomous Region has channeled more loans into organic farming， solar energy and other green projects， official data showed.
　　At the end of June， the region’s green credit balance stood at 73.3 billion yuan （$11.4 billion）， up 6.4 percent year on year， the Lhasa Central Sub-Branch of the People’s Bank of China said in a statement on October 10.
　　The figure accounted for 14.2 percent of the total balance of loans in Tibet.
　　To support the region’s ecological protection， the subbranch has prioritized green finance and formulated a guideline on its development.
　　The sub-branch has also encouraged local lenders to develop new green finance products and services， as well as strengthened the supervision of green credit to forestall related risks， according to the statement.

Upgraded Service

　　Global online retail platform AliExpress will offer Spanish sellers a logistics service that picks up orders in one day and delivers them within three days starting November 11.
　　The door-to-door order collection and delivery are aimed at sellers across Spain’s mainland， Estela Ye， Executive Director of AliExpress in Spain， said on October 5.
　　With prices starting around 3 euros （$3.48） a piece， the service can be used for a single parcel or multiple ones， the company said.
　　AliExpress is part of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.
　　“We have been able to present hundreds of Spanish companies with a high-quality comprehensive logistics solution，” William Wang， General Manager of AliExpress in Spain， Italy and France， said.

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