Hunan Makes Progress in Industrial Green Manufacturing

On November 21, the 2017 Hunan Industry Green Manufacturing Promotion Conference was held in Changsha to demonstrate Hunan’s green development progress made in industry sector. The conference was hosted by the Hunan Economic and Information Technology Commission (HEITC), the Construction and Management Commission of Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan Pilot Zone for Developing Resource-conserving and Environment-friendly Society, the Hunan Provincial Finance Department, the Hunan Provincial Environmental Protection Department, and the Hunan Administration of Quality Technology Supervision (HAQTS). The third-party evaluation certificates were presented to the first batch of national and provincial green factories, green industrial parks, and environmentally conscious supply chain management companies. The third-party authentication certificates were presented to enterprises approved as the Hunan Provincial Two-oriented (Resource-saving and Environment-friendly) Industrial Enterprises. Nine companies in charge of the 2017 national green manufacturing system integrated projects signed agreements with partners. The HEITC and the HAQTS issued six local standards for energy conservation. In 2016, the total added value of industrial enterprises above designated size in Hunan was 1.038 trillion yuan, 180% higher than that of 2010. The comprehensive energy consumption of large industrial enterprises was 59.46 million tons of standard coal, 7.98 million tons less than that of 2010. Progress has been made in establishing green manufacturing system while significantly improving resource and energy utilization efficiency. HEITC Director Xie Chaoying said, “The HEITC will work together with related departments to implement the principles of green development proposed at the 19th CPC National Congress. By 2020, Hunan will take the lead in industrial green manufacturing, with 100 green factories, 10 green industrial parks, and 10 authorized two-oriented industrial enterprises.”

China to launch 5G commercial services next year

China is expected to launch commercial operations of 5G communication in 2018, according to the 19th China High-Tech Fair that concluded Tuesday. With the development of the latest communication technology, China’s three major telecom companies are striving to realize large-scale application of the service in 2020. The previous four generations of telecom technologies focused on people-to-people communication, while the latest generation will connect humans to things. “4G changed your life, 5G will change society,” noted Ding Haiyu, director of China Mobile Research Institute’s wireless division. In addition, 5G technology is almost 100% reliable and consumes little power at low cost. This means almost anything can be equipped with wireless communication technology in the future, enabling wireless communication to develop into a general technology just like electricity. China started technical tests of 5G communication in January last year and has completed the planning of a 30-site 5G test field in Huairou District, Beijing. The next phase of testing will begin later this year or early 2018. The initial 5G network should be achieved in June 2018 and the complete version in September 2019. Large-scale commercial operation is expected to be realized in 2020. Responding to some concern about the new communication technology, an insider explained that the cost will decrease as techniques and services improve. Overall, a household’s communication expense is expected to go down.

China to step up property rights protection

China will step up protection of property rights to provide sustained impetus for economic development, according to a statement following a State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang. Businesses will enjoy better protection of their operational and property rights, and private businesses will enjoy equal protection for their property rights as companies in the public sector. Cases of economic crimes will be handled in compliance with relevant procedures. The protection for residents' property rights will also be enhanced, the statement said. A key report delivered to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) said that economic reforms must focus on improving the property rights system and ensuring the market-oriented allocation of factors of production. This year's government work report said that protecting property rights meant protecting labor, invention and innovation, and protecting and developing productive forces. China's Property Rights Law was promulgated in 2007, widely seen as a landmark for better protection of property rights in the country. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued a guideline on improving property rights protection in November 2016, which is an overall plan for the development of the property rights protection system in China. Regulations and documents that are contradictory to the law and go against the protection of property rights protection will be cleared, revised or abolished to ensure that private businesses will enjoy equal protection as their counterparts in the public sector, the statement said. The government will ensure that administration will be in line with the rule of law, and wayward and arbitrary law enforcement will be strictly prevented, it said. Government oversight over environmental protection and workplace safety must be conducted through lawful means, and no arbitrary measures, not to mention illegal methods should be employed to restrict business production and operation. "Enhancing the protection of intellectual property rights is a matter of overall strategic significance, and it is vital for the development of the socialist market economy," Li said. China's efforts of property rights protection, mass entrepreneurship and innovation and the reform to streamline administration and provide better services have worked to unleash the vitality of enterprises and spurred economic development, Li said. To protect intellectual property rights, the government plans to explore the establishment of a punitive fine mechanism for property rights infringements. The government will also step up law enforcement and judicial protection to increase the cost of infringements and reduce the cost of right protection, the statement said. IPR law enforcement in key areas, including the internet, exports and imports will be reinforced, as well as in rural and urban areas where counterfeiting is rampant. The bad faith of governments will be put on record, and a redress and punishment mechanism for bad faith of governments will be improved. The country will also establish complaint filing and compensation mechanisms for businesses that suffer losses in property rights due to governmental bad faith. "There are still quite a few problems with the current property rights protection system. Deficiency in this area is a main cause for the slide in private investment," Li said. Entrepreneurs should be given a confidence boost through the speedy conclusions of a number of key pending infringement cases, he said. "The wider opening up of the country calls for enhancing IPR protection. All related laws and measures must be fully implemented, the problem of violators getting away with IPR infringements must be tackled to dispel the public concern," Li added.

The investing advantages for Tianjin FTZ

Efficient and Convenient Investment Service System TJFTZ implements the system of pre-establishment national treatment plus a negative list for foreign investment management whereby foreign investment gains free access to market in all sectors other than those specified as prohibited or restricted in the negative list. In fields other than those specified in the negative list for foreign investment access to pilot free trade zones, simple reporting system is adopted and no approval procedure is required. In TJFTZ, service staff offer free counseling and help to applicants in documentation preparation as required for enterprise registration. The “Integrated Multifunction Service Counter” has been established to provide applicants with one-stop convenient services including documentation completeness check, data collection and license issuance. All procedures are completed within one day for “corporate business license with a unified social credit code, rubber stamp, value-added tax invoice and simple reporting. Among all pilot free trade zones in China, TJFTZ takes the lead in synchronizing tax registration with enterprise establishment registration, making it possible for enterprise to start business operation and issue VAT invoice immediately after the completion of enterprise registration. A Rule of Law Environment Built on Fairness and Justice The Regulations of China (Tianjin) Pilot Free Trade Zone implemented on December 24, 2015 provides legal protection to the legitimate rights and interests of investors. Central government ministries and commissions and relevant authorities of Tianjin Municipality have promulgated over 150 policy documents in support of the overall development of TJFTZ, thus effectively sustaining various business operations in the zone. The Binhai New Area authorities have set up TJFTZ Court and built the litigation-ADR (alternative dispute resolution) mechanism for commercial dispute resolution in TJTFZ. In addition, Tianjin Arbitration Commission has set up TJFTZ International Arbitration Centre. China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission and China Maritime Arbitration Commission have set up TJFTZ Arbitration Centre. The Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Service and Protection System Adopted in Line with International Standard On November 20, 2015, North China Intellectual Property Rights Operation Centre, Tianjin Binhai New Area Intellectual Property Rights Protection Service Centre and Intellectual Property Rights Arbitration Centre of Tianjin Arbitration Commission were established and put into operation at the same time. In line with international prevailing rules, these institutions will further expand the range of TJFTZ IPR protection methods, provide enterprises with convenient and efficient IPR protection service, improve the IPR protection efficacy and create a better IPR protection environment. Fair and Orderly Market Environment TJFTZ has established a credit reference system for the general public to query conveniently enterprise credit information including track record, thus strengthening the confirmation of enterprise credit related information and ensuring the sound business transaction free of fraudulence. Category-specific system for enterprise credit risk management has been established, and a joint market supervision and inspection system based on random enterprise and inspector name generation has been established to ensure open and transparent market supervision and law enforcement. Interdepartmental joint-action mechanism of reward and punishment has been established to “give the green light to law-abiding enterprises and curb law-breaking enterprises thoroughly”, thus safeguarding the fair and competitive mark.

Chinese airlines makes first cross-ocean flight using biofuel

After flying over 11,000 kilometers, Hainan Airlines Flight 497 which took off from Beijing landed at Chicago O'Hare International Airport at 12:05 pm local time on Tuesday. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner flew with biological aviation fuel that is produced from waste cooking oil, signaling the first Sino-US green route demonstration to use aviation biofuel. The use of biofuel can reduce carbon emissions while ensuring flight safety and efficiency, according to Hainan Airlines. Sun Jianfeng, President of Hainan Airlines Co., 787 Captain said that today's flight by biofuel is as safe as ordinary aircraft with aviation oil, "after flying to a maximum height of 41,000 inches, we still found the engine runs well and aircraft performance is good and stable." Sun said Hainan Airlines has always viewed environmental protection and harmonious environment development as top priority, and it proved that Hainan Airlines has the capability to carry out cross-ocean flight using biofuel. "In the future, we will realize green flight by using more new mode aircraft and applied new computer programs to optimize flight," Sun said. Darrin Morgan, director of Sustainable Fuels Strategy at Boeing told Xinhua that today's flight by Hainan Airlines is a significant milestone, and more important, the sustainable fuel is produced by Chinese national company -Sinopec. "Boeing has been collaborating with Sinopec and many other Chinese stake holders over the years quite well in helping to create new sustainable aviation fuel supply chain and setting up new technologies to support the industry. We are looking forward to more collaboration with China in the future." said Morgan. Hainan Airlines made the country's first domestic biofuel-powered passenger flight in 2015.

Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge set to finish major construction by year's end

The government of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) said on Tuesday that the construction of the Main Bridge of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) is progressing well and the three sides have agreed to try to finish the major works by the end of 2017. The construction of the Main Bridge of the HZMB, financed by the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR and constructed by the HZMB Authority, is progressing well, the Hong Kong SAR government's Transport and Housing Bureau (THB) said, adding that the bridge section and subsea tunnel section have been connected. The bureau added that furnishing works for the tunnel interior and roads, and buildings on the artificial islands, as well as traffic control works are in progress. The HZMB Joint Works Committee meeting on Nov. 7 discussed in detail the commissioning date of the HZMB. The three sides have agreed to make their best endeavors to overcome the difficulties and challenges to achieve the target of completing the major construction works of the Main Bridge and the ports by the end of 2017. They will also continue to improve the clearance conditions of the ports. The commissioning date of the HZMB will be ascertained by the Central Task Force and will be announced once confirmed, the THB said. Spanning over Lingdingyang, the HZMB, an unprecedented mega transport infrastructure project will connect the Hong Kong SAR in the east and the Macao SAR and Zhuhai City of Guangdong Province in the west.