No.7

　　The measures for the implementation of the management of books, newspapers and periodicals market in Beijing are hereby promulgated and shall come into force as of April 1, 1991.

Measures of Beijing Municipality for the Administration of Books, Newspapers and Periodicals Market

　　Article 1 These Measures are formulated for the purpose of implementing the Regulations of Beijing Municipality on the Administration of Books, Newspapers and Audiovisual Markets promulgated by the Standing Committee of the Municipal People’s Congress (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations) and strengthening the management of the books, newspapers and periodicals markets.

　　Article 2 The "Regulations" and these Measures must be fully implemented in the distribution and lease of books and newspapers within the administrative area of this Municipality (referring to the wholesale, retail, mail order and consignment, the same below).

　　Article 3 The Municipal Press and Publication Bureau is the competent authority of the book and newspaper market in this Municipality, and is responsible for the supervision and management of the distribution and rental of books and newspapers in this Municipality. The district and county cultural administrative organs shall be responsible for the daily management of the books, newspapers and periodicals market within their respective administrative areas.

　　Article 4 An entity applying to engage in the business of publishing and renting books and newspapers must have a fixed business place, capital and equipment corresponding to its business scale, and the establishment of outlets shall conform to the development plan of the book and newspaper publishing industry in this Municipality and the market planning of the districts and counties.

　　Units applying for the wholesale business of books, newspapers and periodicals, in addition to the above conditions, must also have higher authorities, engaged in retail business for more than three years, and have management personnel with certain business level and cultural knowledge.

　　Article 5 An individual applying to engage in the retail and rental business of books, newspapers and periodicals must have a permanent residence in this Municipality and a junior high school education or above, in addition to meeting the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 4 of these Measures.

　　No individual may engage in the wholesale business of books, newspapers and periodicals.

　　Article 6 Units and individuals applying for the business of publishing and renting books, newspapers and periodicals shall submit relevant materials to the local district or county cultural administrative organ for examination and approval; With the approval of the district and county cultural administrative organs, a business license shall be issued, and the applicant shall apply for a business license from the administrative department for industry and commerce with a certificate.

　　The wholesale business of calendars, calendars and New Year pictures is operated by Xinhua Bookstore. Retail calendars, calendars and new year pictures of books, newspapers and stationery operators shall be reported to the local district and county cultural administrative organs for examination and approval; If approved, a temporary business license shall be issued, and the corresponding registration shall be handled with the administrative department for industry and commerce. The temporary license shall indicate the validity period.

　　Those who have not obtained a business license shall not operate calendars, calendars or New Year pictures.

　　Foreign book and newspaper business units applying for engaging in book and newspaper business activities in this city must hold the approval documents of the local provincial press and publication administrative authorities and report to the Municipal Press and Publication Bureau for approval; If it is approved, it will be issued with a business license and a special certificate for registration with the administrative department for industry and commerce.

　　Unless otherwise provided by laws and regulations, those who have not obtained the business license and business license are not allowed to engage in the business of publishing and renting books and newspapers.

　　The business license is not allowed to be lent, leased, altered or forged.

　　Books, newspapers and periodicals business units or individuals (hereinafter referred to as book and newspaper operators) that change their business location, name, nature, competent department and other matters or close their business shall go through corresponding changes or close their business registration with the original approval authority.

　　Seventh postal departments engaged in newspaper distribution business, according to the relevant provisions of the "Postal Law", the provisions of Article 6 of these measures are not applicable. Non-postal personnel who retail newspapers must obtain the approval of the local postal department and wear the newspaper retail market business license printed by the postal department.

　　Newspaper employees who sell newspapers published by this newspaper must wear the newspaper retail market business license printed by this newspaper.

　　The style of newspaper retail market business license shall be reported to the Municipal Press and Publication Bureau for the record by the issuing unit.

　　Article 8 Operators of books, newspapers and periodicals shall abide by the following provisions:

　　1. Do not operate beyond the approved mode and scope of operation. Without approval, it is not allowed to operate antique books and newspapers, imported books and newspapers (including Taiwan Province, Hongkong and Macau editions) and internally distributed books and newspapers.

　　Two, the unit operating books and newspapers must be purchased from the official publishing unit and the unit approved to engage in wholesale business; Self-employed books, newspapers and periodicals must be purchased from wholesale units in this city. Wholesale units shall not wholesale books, newspapers and periodicals to operators without business licenses.

　　Third, it is forbidden to sell or rent books, newspapers and periodicals that propagate and incite against the basic principles set by the Constitution, oppose the Communist Party of China (CPC)’s leadership, deny the socialist system, endanger national security, undermine national unity, and promote obscenity, feudalism, superstition and murder and violence; It is forbidden to sell or rent books, newspapers and periodicals without standard ISBN, uniform ISBN, publishing unit and pricing, and other illegal publications prohibited by the state.

　　Four, books and newspapers, advertisements, orders, shall not use low-level, vulgar, obscene language and pictures; Do not make false propaganda. Books issued internally and imported shall not be advertised publicly.

　　Five, shall not arbitrarily alter the pricing of books and newspapers or arbitrarily increase the price, shall not be sold with books and newspapers.

　　Article 9 Books and periodicals of literature and art and sexual knowledge purchased by wholesale units shall be submitted to the Municipal Press and Publication Bureau for review. The Municipal Press and Publication Bureau shall, within three days from the date of receiving the sample book, make a reply of agreeing or disagreeing with the sales. Without examination or examination by the Municipal Press and Publication Bureau, it is considered that the contents of books and periodicals violate the "Regulations" and the relevant provisions of the state and do not agree to the sale, and the wholesale unit shall not sell or deal with them without authorization.

　　Tenth in parks, exhibition halls and other public places to hold books, newspapers and exhibitions, must be reported to the Municipal Press and Publication Bureau for approval before opening, and then according to the relevant provisions of the management of commodity exhibitions and exhibitions.

　　Article 11 The Municipal Press and Publication Bureau and the district/county cultural administrative organs may take measures to stop selling, temporarily detain and seal up books and newspapers that are sold or rented in this city and are banned in violation of Article 16 of the Regulations, and deal with them in accordance with the Regulations and relevant state regulations.

　　Twelfth in violation of the "Regulations" and these measures, the municipal press and publication bureau or the district/county cultural administrative organ shall give the following penalties:

　　First, those who operate books, newspapers and periodicals without a business license, or those who do not operate in the approved fixed place with a business license, shall be banned, all illegally operated books and periodicals and illegal income shall be confiscated, and depending on the seriousness of the case, the unit shall be fined not less than 20,000 yuan from 1000 yuan, and the individual shall be fined not less than 50 yuan and not more than 500 yuan.

　　Two, without the approval of the calendar, calendar, New Year pictures, given a warning, confiscation of illegal calendars, calendars, New Year pictures and illegal income; If the circumstances are serious, a fine of more than 20,000 yuan from 1000 yuan may be imposed.

　　Three, change or business is not required to register, give a warning or a fine of more than 50 yuan and less than 500 yuan.

　　Four, lent, leased, altered business license, given a warning, a fine of more than 100 yuan and 1000 yuan; If the circumstances are serious, the business license shall be revoked, and the business license shall be revoked by the administrative department for industry and commerce. Whoever forges a license shall be punished according to the first paragraph of this article, and the forged license shall be confiscated. If a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law.

　　Five, newspaper workers and personnel approved by the postal department retail newspapers are not required to wear the newspaper retail market business license, given a warning or a fine of more than 5 yuan and less than 50 yuan.

　　Six, without authorization beyond the approved mode of operation and scope of operation, by the Municipal Press and Publication Bureau or the district and county cultural administrative organs in conjunction with the administrative department for Industry and commerce, confiscate the illegal income, and may be fined less than 3 times the total price of books and newspapers; If the circumstances are serious, the business license and business license shall be revoked.

　　Seven, in violation of the provisions of the purchase of books and newspapers, given a warning; If the circumstances are serious, the illegally purchased books and newspapers shall be confiscated, and the unit shall be fined between 2,000 yuan and 20,000 yuan, and the individual shall be fined between 5,000 yuan and 500 yuan.

　　Eight, the sale of prohibited books and periodicals, confiscate all prohibited books and periodicals and illegal income, and impose a fine of 3 to 5 times the total price of prohibited books and periodicals; If the circumstances are serious, the business license shall be revoked, and the business license shall be revoked by the administrative department for industry and commerce. Those who engage in speculation shall be punished by the administrative department for industry and commerce in accordance with the Provisional Regulations on Administrative Punishment of Speculation. Those who violate the administration of public security shall be punished by the public security organs in accordance with the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Administrative Penalties for Public Security. If a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law.

　　Nine, wholesale units are not required to submit sample books, give a warning; If the circumstances are serious, the income from unauthorized sales of books and periodicals shall be confiscated, and a fine of more than 20,000 yuan from 1000 yuan may be imposed, until its wholesale business license is revoked.

　　Thirteenth in violation of the relevant provisions of advertising, prices, etc., by the Municipal Press and Publication Bureau or the district, county cultural administrative organs in conjunction with the industrial and commercial, price management organs to investigate and deal with according to law.

　　Fourteenth books and newspapers market management personnel to check the books and newspapers market, must produce inspection certificates; When withholding or confiscating books, newspapers and periodicals, a uniformly printed collection voucher must be issued; When stopping the sale and sealing up books and newspapers, the seals printed uniformly shall be used; When the operator is punished, a decision on handling illegal cases must be issued. Managers do not implement the above provisions, operators have the right to refuse inspection and punishment. Those who obstruct managers from performing official duties shall be punished by public security organs according to law.

　　Fifteenth problems in the specific implementation of these measures, the Municipal People’s government authorized the Municipal Press and Publication Bureau to explain.

　　Article 16 These Measures shall come into force as of April 1, 1991. On October 25, 1986, the Municipal People’s Government approved and issued the Regulations on Strengthening the Management of Books and Newspapers Market, which was abolished at the same time.

　　Xinhua News Agency, Nairobi, December 15th (Reporter Li Hualing, Liu Wanqing) The commuter meter-gauge railway project from Liruta District, Nairobi, Kenya, to Ngong Town, Kajiaduo County, which was undertaken by Chinese enterprises, was officially launched on the 15th.

　　On December 15th, in Kajiaduo County, Kenya, Kenyan President Ruto delivered a speech at the groundbreaking ceremony. Xinhua News Agency reporter Han Xu photo

　　Kenyan President Ruto said at the groundbreaking ceremony that the project is a major livelihood project in Kenya. After completion, it will greatly alleviate the traffic congestion problem in southwest Nairobi, provide great convenience for the daily commuting of residents along the route, and help to comprehensively reduce people’s living costs.

　　On December 15th, in Kajiaduo County, Kenya, Kenyan President Ruto (front right) unveiled the monument for the project at the groundbreaking ceremony. Xinhua News Agency reporter Han Xu photo

　　It is understood that this project is the first urban commuter railway project undertaken by China Road and Bridge Engineering Co., Ltd. in Kenya. There are four stations in the project line. The main line of the line is about 12.15 km long, and the station line is about 2.42 km long. The contract period of the project is 24 months.

　　This is the scene of the groundbreaking ceremony filmed in Kajiaduo County, Kenya on December 15th. Xinhua News Agency reporter Han Xu photo

　　Jiao Xuxue, deputy general manager of China Luqiao Kenya Office, said that this project will strengthen the connection between downtown Nairobi and surrounding areas, promote Nairobi to realize the strategic plan of commuter railway network in 2030, and provide more travel options for local residents. At the same time, the project will help Kenya make full use of existing railway resources and promote Kenya to become a regional transportation hub.

　　This is the scene of the groundbreaking ceremony filmed in Kajiaduo County, Kenya on December 15th. Xinhua News Agency reporter Han Xu photo

　　Kenyan Minister of Transport Kipchunba Murkomen said that the project will be part of the 165-kilometer Nairobi commuter railway. The construction of transportation infrastructure can promote the flow of people and create employment opportunities, thus contributing to Kenya’s economic transformation.

　　□ Our reporter Wang Chun

　　□ Our correspondent Wu You Jiang Jie

　　Recently, the Education Bureau of Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province issued an announcement on soliciting opinions on the implementation measures for the withdrawal mechanism of teachers in primary and secondary schools (kindergartens) in Ningbo (draft for comments). The core essence is "to quit the teachers who fail to take up their posts, fail to pass the examination, violate the teachers’ ethics or are incompetent (insist) in teaching posts for other reasons."

　　A stone stirs up a thousand waves. The solicitation of opinions triggered a heated discussion in the society. Many netizens commented that this move would break the tenure system and teachers would no longer be "iron rice bowls".

　　In fact, this move by Ningbo Education Bureau is not the first, and several withdrawal situations mentioned in the opinion draft are those who have long been qualified as "unqualified teachers’ morality" by the Ministry of Education. At the same time, the opinion draft puts forward that "strictly implement the system of prohibiting criminals from working, purify the campus environment and effectively protect minors", which is an extension and landing of the idea of "Opinions on Implementing the System of Prohibiting Working" issued by the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate and the Ministry of Education.

　　The reporter of "Rule of Law Daily" noticed that building a firewall of rule of law for the healthy growth of minors is an area deeply cultivated by the procuratorial organs in Ningbo in recent years. Its joint education, public security and other departments have implemented detailed relevant systems, forming a strong synergy to protect minors in the city.

　　Pre-query of illegal behavior

　　Intercept potential risks on campus

　　In the exposure draft, the reporter saw: "Teachers who are punished by public security management or sentenced to punishment according to law for sexual assault, abuse, trafficking, violent injury, indecency, drug abuse, prostitution, whoring, gambling and other illegal and criminal acts that may endanger students’ physical and mental health should be dismissed by the school."

　　The basis of this work is the "Inquiring Methods of Criminal Records of Sexual Offences of Employees in Close Contact with Minors in Ningbo" (hereinafter referred to as "the Measures") issued by Ningbo Municipal People’s Procuratorate in December 2019 in conjunction with 12 units including Ningbo Communist Youth League Committee, Municipal Public Security Bureau, Municipal Intermediate People’s Court, Municipal Education Bureau and Civil Affairs Bureau. The Measures was formally implemented on January 1, 2020.

　　The "Measures" propose that close contact with the minor industry includes units, organizations and institutions that have special responsibilities such as guardianship, education, training, rescue, nursing and medical care for minors; Industry personnel include teachers, trainers, coaches, nurses, doctors and other staff who have special responsibilities directly to minors, as well as other staff who are in close contact with minors to facilitate their work.

　　According to statistics, since the implementation of the Measures, Ningbo has inquired about nearly 130,000 people, including on-the-job teaching staff and teachers of training institutions, and found that 12 people have criminal records. The procuratorial organs in Ningbo issued procuratorial suggestions to functional departments and adopted them, effectively blocking the potential risks of campus safety and promoting the improvement of campus safety prevention and control construction.

　　In May, 2020, the People’s Procuratorate of Yuyao found that one of the 23 new recruits who applied for employment in a school in Yuyao had an administrative punishment record for molesting students.

　　After preliminary investigation, Yuyao City Procuratorate immediately obtained its administrative punishment decision, personal resume, application registration form and other related materials, and quickly found out that the person had been administratively punished for molesting two underage girls during his tenure at a school outside Yuyao City.

　　"After discovering this clue, in view of the problem that the education authorities failed to revoke the teacher qualification certificate in time after the person was administratively punished, we issued a procuratorial suggestion to the Ningbo Municipal Education Bureau through the Ningbo Procuratorate, suggesting that it urge the education bureau of a certain district in Ningbo to revoke the teacher qualification certificate of this person." The prosecutor in charge said that at the same time, clues were transferred to the problem that the public security organs imposed too light administrative punishment on the personnel. At present, the person was sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment according to law for child molestation.

　　Implement the mandatory reporting system

　　Build a protective wall for students

　　In a case of alleged indecency recently handled by the People’s Procuratorate of Xiangshan County, Ningbo City, the suspect was prosecuted and the class teacher was held accountable for failing to fulfill the mandatory reporting system.

　　One day in March 2022, five female students from a primary school in Xiangshan County walked into a nearby police station to report that they had been molested by their teacher Hu Moumou. The juvenile prosecutor of Xiangshan County Procuratorate quickly rushed to the police station and intervened in the case in advance.

　　From the facts told by the female students, the prosecutor caught that the class teacher and the school where she works may have failed to fulfill the compulsory reporting obligation, and guided the public security organs to seize the obscene written materials written by the victims at the first time. After finding out the facts, Xiangshan County Procuratorate filed a public prosecution against Hu Moumou for allegedly molesting children, and the court sentenced him to 12 years in prison.

　　Although the case has been completed, the prosecutor’s physical and mental protection for minors has continued. On March 24th, Xiangshan County Procuratorate issued a procuratorial proposal, urging the education department to give corresponding punishment to the teachers who failed to fulfill the compulsory reporting obligations and the schools where they work, and requiring the education department to include the implementation of the compulsory reporting system in the annual assessment of schools. The rewards and punishments must be clearly defined in the detailed rules and the relevant responsibilities must be implemented to people. The education department attached great importance to the procuratorial proposal, specially convened a party committee to discuss the matter, adjusted the assessment indicators of the school’s developmental management by objectives within one week, and added "schools that did not incorporate the mandatory reporting system into the assessment indicators of the management by objectives, and implemented a one-vote veto system in the annual assessment" in the "veto item".

　　At the initiative of the procuratorial organs, all the teachers and staff of primary and secondary schools in Xiangshan County signed a total of 9142 letters of commitment to fulfill the obligation of compulsory reporting, ensuring that the compulsory reporting system was implemented. In May 2022, the Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Education Department respectively imposed disciplinary and political sanctions on the relevant responsible personnel.

　　In response to the social management loopholes in the protection of minors found in the handling of cases, Xiangshan County Procuratorate, together with the county public security bureau and the county education bureau, issued the "Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Compulsory Reporting System for Infringement of Minors in Xiangshan County (for Trial Implementation)", taking "three aspects (full investigation of the compulsory reporting of sexual assault cases, full coverage of the signing of the commitment letter of the compulsory reporting system, and full inclusion of the compulsory reporting system in the assessment)" as the starting point, to promote the implementation of the compulsory reporting system and build a protective wall to prevent minors from being infringed.

　　Go into the campus and strengthen the popularization of law

　　Improve the quality and effectiveness of judicial protection

　　In Yinzhou District, Ningbo City, there is an unchecked team of "Seven-color Flowers". At present, seven members are all women, and they strive to bloom and dispel the haze in children’s hearts.

　　Starting from the physical and mental characteristics of minors, the "seven-color flower" unchecked team pioneered a one-stop place and case-handling mode of "integration of prosecutors and police and cooperation between prosecutors and doctors" in the country. The environment of the "one-stop" protection workstation for minors in the hospital is secret and warm, and the resources of all parties are fully utilized to realize the one-time inquiry, evidence collection and inspection of minor victims, so as to avoid "secondary harm".

　　In March, 2021, Ningbo Procuratorate, together with seven units including Ningbo Insurance Office, Municipal Public Security Bureau and Municipal Health and Health Commission, explored the mode of "cooperation between doctors and prosecutors", using the law enforcement case management center of public security organs to open up special case-handling areas, designate special case-handling personnel, implement special rescue teams, and complete the inquiry, physical examination and psychological counseling of underage victims in one stop. At present, the city has built nine "one-stop" protection centers for handling cases.

　　The procuratorial organs at the two levels in Ningbo adopt the principle of minimum tolerance and maximum protection against minors, and accurately and effectively punish crimes against minors. According to statistics, since 2020, the procuratorial organs in Ningbo have approved the arrest of 505 suspects and prosecuted 646 people.

　　At the same time, the procuratorial organs in Ningbo went into the campus to popularize the law and enhance the awareness of the rule of law among minors.

　　It is reported that 178 procuratorial police officers, including 11 chief procurators, have been employed as vice presidents of the rule of law in the procuratorial organs of Ningbo City and conducted publicity on the rule of law. Since 2021, more than 622 lectures on the rule of law with various forms and rich contents have been held online and offline, covering more than 210,000 parents of teachers and students, which has enhanced the concept of the rule of law of teachers and students at school.

　　According to the relevant person in charge of the Ningbo Procuratorate, Ningbo has conscientiously implemented the "No.1 Procuratorial Proposal" in the procuratorial work of minors, and under the guidance of the concept of maximizing the interests of minors, it has paid equal attention to handling cases, supervision, prevention and education, combined punishment with assistance and education, organically integrated protection, education and control, and continuously promoted the two-way, comprehensive and comprehensive judicial protection of minors. At the same time, it has adhered to the combination of specialized handling cases and socialized protection, and actively promoted the systematic support of social support.

According to foreign media reports, NASA said that five asteroids will pass by the earth in the future, and one of them may be very close to the earth. It is reported that the smallest diameter of these asteroids is only 8 meters and the largest is 90 meters, and lular distance from the Earth will be as short as five distance to the moon.

Image source network

A distance to the moon refers to the distance between the earth and the moon, which is about 238,900 miles (384,000 kilometers). It sounds like a long distance, but it is a very close distance in the vast space, and they will pass by the edge of the earth. Fortunately, the closest asteroid to the earth this time is smaller in diameter and will not pose too much threat to the earth.

Where are the asteroids?

Asteroids are celestial bodies in the solar system that move around the sun like planets, but are much smaller in size and mass than planets. Most of them are influenced by the gravitational force of the sun and Jupiter, and they gather in the asteroid-intensive area between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. According to the statistics of 120,437 asteroids that have been numbered, this hotbed of asteroid "life" is composed of more than 500,000 asteroids. So many of them are called "main belt" and many people are used to calling it "asteroid belt".

Figure: Asteroid belt

The so-called "near-earth asteroids" can be understood very well just by looking at the literal meaning. "Near-earth" means that their orbits are very close to the earth, and they are a special group that deviates from the main belt.

Dangerous asteroid

According to analysis, only asteroids with a diameter of more than 140 meters and a minimum distance from the Earth of less than 0.05 astronomical unit (about 7.4 million kilometers) will be included in the list of dangerous asteroids.

According to the latest release of the website of the International Asteroid Center, researchers have discovered 1,640 "potentially threatening near-Earth asteroids" through global joint survey.

History of asteroid impact on the earth

As early as 65 million years ago, dinosaurs, a large animal that dominated the earth for 150 million years, suddenly disappeared. Astronomers speculate that there are two possible reasons for the extinction of dinosaurs: first, the explosion of supernovae, which is equivalent to about 10.24 hydrogen bombs, led to the extinction of dinosaurs; The second is asteroid impact. In 1978, American astronomer Luis Alvarez speculated that an asteroid hit Iceland, and this impact was equivalent to the energy of 1 trillion tons of TNT. Such a violent impact led to the disappearance of dinosaurs.

In addition, on June 30, 1908, a huge flash of light lit up the sky in the Tunguska River Basin in Shiquan, krasnoyarskiy kray, Siberia, followed by a violent explosion equivalent to 1,000 atomic bombs. A mushroom-like cloud of smoke soared 12 miles into the sky, and the scorching air billow swept the vast Taiga forest one after another, and hundreds of square kilometers of forest were destroyed in the explosion. This famous explosion was the Tunguska Big Bang.

Photo: Tunguska Big Bang data

In addition, according to the latest research report of geoscientists from the Australian National University (ANU), at least three asteroids with a diameter of 20-50 kilometers collided with the earth 3.2 billion years ago, which greatly changed the structure and elemental composition of the earth’s surface.

In recent years, scientists predict that an asteroid named Apophis will pass by the Earth in 2029 and hit the Earth in 2036. If it hits the earth, it will generate energy equivalent to the explosion of 110,000 atomic bombs, which is equivalent to the instantaneous destruction of the whole city of new york and its surrounding areas. If it hits the ocean, it will cause a devastating tsunami, which is more violent than the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Apophis is one of nearly 800 potentially threatening asteroids known to astronomers.

Prevent collision and defend the earth

In order to cope with this possible impact, some people put forward a plan to destroy asteroids with nuclear weapons. However, all the accumulated nuclear weapons on the earth are only enough to blow up an asteroid with a diameter of 9 kilometers, and they have to hit the center accurately. In addition, the consequences of a nuclear explosion in the universe are unpredictable.

Therefore, people are also considering other plans to deal with asteroids, such as using lasers or lead ingots. NASA is going to lure Apophis away with a "gravity trailer" when it flies to the Earth in 2029. When the asteroid passes near the Earth in 2029, it only needs to launch a "gravity trailer" spacecraft weighing about 1 ton, which can change the orbit of this asteroid. According to astronomers’ calculations, Apophis will slightly change its orbit when it flies over the earth this time, but when it returns again in 2036, the possibility of colliding with the earth is very small, only 1 in 5,000.

Although the speculation about the extinction of dinosaurs makes the prediction of the impact of asteroids on the earth scary, with the development of science and technology, from not knowing what asteroids are to accurately understanding and then boldly predicting, the progress of civilization makes us believe in the power of science, and there must always be a perfect way to deal with this "uninvited guest".

The pictures and texts are produced by Popular Science China, and are authorized to be published in the column "Learning Science with Xiaobian" of CCTV. Please indicate the source for reprinting.

Produced by: Tianjin science and technology hall Xu Wen, Beijing Normal University Zhang Tongjie.

Producer: computer network information center

Just now, the AI giant (NVIDIA) has set a new record.

At 1 am on June 19th, Beijing time,The share price of NVIDIA (NVIDIA, NASDAQ: NVDA), the world’s largest AI computing power provider and AI chip giant, rose by 3.5% in intraday trading, and its market value reached 3.337(3.34) trillion US dollars, surpassing and becoming the company with the highest market value in the world.

This milestone marks NVIDIA’s outstanding achievements in technological innovation and market expansion, and the importance of the AI era to Wall Street.

3.34 trillion US dollars, equivalent to the sixth largest economy in the world — — Britain’s GDP in 2023 is also the market value of 12 Maotai (1.94 trillion yuan), 25 AMD and 12 AMD, even 8.76 times that of Intel +AMD combined.

So far, NVIDIA has not only become the world’s first chip company with a market value exceeding $3 trillion, the world’s first company with a market value of $3 trillion founded by Chinese, the seventh American company with a market value exceeding $1 trillion and the third one exceeding $3 trillion, but also become the world’s largest AI technology company with the fastest growth of $3 trillion in technology stocks, making history.

It is reported that,NVIDIA, founded in 1993, is an important innovator in the field of computer graphics and AI technology, and invented GPU graphics computing (accelerated computing) in 1999, which greatly promoted the development of PC game market, redefined computer graphics technology, and initiated a new era of modern AI accelerated computing. In recent years, it has caught up with the meta-universe, cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence, and finally almost unified the AI computing chip market.

Now,NVIDIA has grown into a full-stack computing company, dedicated to developing CPU, GPU, DPU and AI software, providing accelerated computing solutions for data centers, autonomous driving, metauniverse and other fields. At present, in the field of GPU or accelerated computing, NVIDIA has a global market share of over 90%.

In the past, NVIDIA’s share price has recorded a cumulative increase of 10 times, despite the fact that its share price was "halved" twice due to the low tide of encryption digital currency, the "headwind" of macro economy in 2022, the sharp drop in consumer electronics market demand and the downturn of semiconductor industry.

Since November 2022.OpenAI company released AI ChatGPT, which quickly swept the world, and set off a competition and upsurge around AI big model.

As the "overlord" of AI’s bottom computing power, NVIDIA is one of the biggest beneficiaries of this upsurge, and its GPU products have few substitutes in large-scale model training. As the AI "arms race" between companies such as Microsoft and Google heats up, NVIDIA’s A100 and H100 chips have become "hard currency" for large-scale model training.

In March this year, Huang Renxun, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, said that NVIDIA AI supercomputer DGX was the engine behind the big model, and he personally handed over the world’s first DGX to OpenAI. Since then, this product has been installed in half of more than 100 head enterprises around the world.

According to UBS analysts’ estimates,About 10,000 NVIDIA GPUs are needed to develop ChatGPT.

At the same time,NVIDIA’s share price also began to recover continuously due to the AI craze, rebounding from the low of around $112 in October 2022 to the current level of over $400. The AI craze is also stimulating investors’ longing for NVIDIA, and the first-quarter financial report of NVIDIA released this month has pushed up the share price.

On May 22 this year, NVIDIA released the second quarter revenue forecast that exceeded market expectations, and announced a stock splits plan-each share will be split into 10 shares. This series of positive news has greatly enhanced investors’ confidence in this leading enterprise in the field of artificial intelligence and encouraged them to continue investing. Since the beginning of the year, NVIDIA’s share price has risen by more than 170%, and in 2023, it led the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index with an increase of 238.9%.

The growth rate of NVIDIA’s market value is amazing.

Looking back on the scene a year ago, the company’s market value is far from reaching the threshold of $1 trillion, ranking behind the technology giants such as Google’s parent company Alphabet, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft. In the ranking of giants in the technology industry, NVIDIA’s market value is only slightly higher than Meta and.

However, fast forward to June 13, 2023, the market value of NVIDIA crossed the important threshold of $1 trillion in one fell swoop; On February 23, 2024, the company’s market value broke through the $2 trillion mark at an alarming rate, setting a record for the fastest growth from $1 trillion to $2 trillion.

On June 5th this year, NVIDIA’s market value leapt again, breaking through the $3 trillion mark. It took less than four months to leap from 2 trillion to 3 trillion.

Earlier this month, the market value of NVIDIA surpassed that of Apple for the first time since 2002, and the rankings of the two companies have risen alternately in recent days. Last week, Apple once surpassed Microsoft to take the top spot.

As of Monday’s close, NVIDIA’s share price has risen by more than 160% since 2024, and its market value has increased by more than 2 trillion US dollars.

At present, the market value of three companies in the United States has exceeded $3 trillion, namely NVIDIA, Microsoft and Apple. The combined market value of the above three companies is nearly 10 trillion US dollars.

The growth of NVIDIA means that AI is the focus of many investors.

Daniel Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, wrote in a report: "We believe that in the coming year, NVIDIA, Apple and Microsoft will become the focus of competition for the $4 trillion market value of the technology industry."

Huang Renxun, an investor and CEO of NVIDIA, believes that NVIDIA is not only a chip manufacturer, but also a key company in the field of AI infrastructure. Last year, the sales of AI chips in NVIDIA increased by more than 125%.

Michael Lippert, vice president and portfolio manager of Baron Capital Inc, pointed out that "they sell not only chips, but also systems", and pointed out the company’s proprietary software and development ecosystem.

Ives said: "With the smooth progress of the fourth industrial revolution, more and more enterprises and consumers have quickly embarked on this road. NVIDIA’s GPU chips are essentially new gold or oil in the field of science and technology."

Rosenblat Securities analyst Hans Mosesmann even raised NVIDIA’s target price from $140 to the highest price on Wall Street of $200 on Tuesday.Thereby pushing its market value to nearly $5 trillion in the next year.. Moseman stressed: "We expect that the software business will grow significantly in the next decade in terms of the overall sales portfolio, and the valuation of NVIDIA will show an upward trend due to sustainability."

Not only NVIDIA, but also Huang Renxun’s personal wealth has increased dramatically with the soaring stock price.

According to Bloomberg’s real-time ranking of global billionaires, as of June 18th, Huang Renxun ranked 12th in the list, with a total net worth of $115 billion.It surpassed Zhong Shanshan, founder of Nongfu Spring (US$ 60.3 billion, ranking 23rd), Huang Zheng, founder of Nongfu Spring (US$ 52.3 billion, 26th), Ma Huateng (US$ 43.9 billion, 28th), Zhang Yiming, CEO of ByteDance (US$ 42.2 billion, 31st) and Ma Yun (US$ 31.9 billion, 51st), second only to Warren Buffett (1355).

According to documents disclosed by NVIDIA, Huang Renxun, CEO of NVIDIA, sold 240,000 shares on June 13th and 14th at a price ranging from $127 to $133, and Huang Renxun is expected to sell 120,000 shares of the company on Monday. Based on the comprehensive calculation, Huang Renxun sold more than $32 million in cash.

According to the data compiled by Washington Service, excluding the impact of the 10-share split on June 10th, in the first half of this year, NVIDIA executives and directors, including Huang Renxun, have sold more than 700 million US dollars, the highest number of shares sold in six months since the first half of 2023.

(This article first appeared in Titanium Media App, author | Lin Zhijia, editor | Hu Runfeng)

On further improving China’s mineral resources guarantee abilitySuggestions on supporting high-quality development

Sun Fengyue

【Jilin NLD WeChat WeChat official accountMineral resources are an important material basis for human survival and an important guarantee for national resource and energy security and economic and social development. Since the founding of New China, the CPC Central Committee has attached great importance to the exploration, development and utilization of mineral resources. Several generations of leaders have written inscriptions and given important instructions on mining development, which greatly promoted the healthy development of China’s mining industry and made outstanding contributions to the country’s economic and social construction. In 2006, the State Council promulgated the "Decision on Strengthening Geological Work" (Guo Fa 2006 (No.4)). In 2011, the General Office of the State Council forwarded the "Strategic Action Plan for Prospecting Breakthrough (2011-2020)" (Guo Ban Fa 2011 (No.57)) to four ministries and commissions, including the Ministry of Land and Resources, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Finance. Major breakthroughs and achievements have been made in the exploration of important minerals, green exploration and the improvement of scientific and technological innovation ability in the field of geology and minerals, which has made important contributions to China’s economic and social construction. However, due to China’s huge population base, the per capita possession of important mineral resources in China is still significantly lower than the world average. The rapid development of China’s industrialization and urbanization, especially China’s industrial production ranked first in the world for 11 consecutive years, the demand for important mineral resources showed an obvious rigid upward trend, the domestic supply guarantee capacity was insufficient, and the dependence on foreign countries continued to rise. The dependence on foreign countries of more than 10 important minerals exceeded 50%. At present, the guarantee of mineral resources is still a major strategic issue facing China’s high-quality development in the new period.Under the guidance of the development concept of innovation, coordination, green, openness and sharing, the implementation of the "Tenth Five-Year Plan" and high-quality development put forward new and higher requirements for the improvement of China’s mineral resources security capacity. In order to further ensure China’s resource and energy security and promote sustainable and healthy economic and social development, the following specific suggestions are put forward:

1. Vigorously carry out green exploration, deep exploration and sea resource exploration of mineral resources.

The scientific assertion of "Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" put forward by the Supreme Leader General Secretary has led China into a new era of green development. In order to solve the resource bottleneck and environmental problems in mineral exploration, green exploration has become an important path for mining development. At present, it is urgent to speed up the formulation of industry and national standards for green exploration on the basis of the group standard of Green Exploration Guide issued by China Mining Association in 2018, so as to guide and standardize mineral exploration, development and utilization activities in China under the new situation.

Deep mineral resources have great potential. Increasing the depth of exploration and carrying out deep exploration, especially in some old mines, can obtain new important resources without expanding the scope of surface influence, so as to solve the resource bottleneck problem and effectively alleviate the ecological environment pressure brought by related activities.

With the implementation of the national marine strategy, in order to continuously expand the development space of marine economy, the exploration and evaluation of mineral resources in the sea area is becoming more and more important, and should be planned as soon as possible. We must adhere to the idea of seeking development with green and constantly seeking resources from deep and sea areas.

2. Make good use of two resources and two markets in the field of mineral resources.

In his speech at the opening ceremony of the China International Mining Conference in Tianjin in 2010, Premier Li Keqiang pointed out that we should make full use of both domestic and foreign markets and resources, and constantly enhance the energy resources guarantee capacity for economic and social development.

In the face of economic globalization, adhering to China’s opening-up strategy, making full use of the implementation of the "Belt and Road" strategy, relying on foreign resources and foreign markets, and actively carrying out international cooperation are still important ways for China to effectively enhance its resource support capacity and increase its mineral resources reserves, and will remain a strategy that we should adhere to for a long time.

In view of the complicated and changeable international environment, it is also of great practical significance to further find out the property of China’s mineral resources and improve the guarantee ability based on the domestic situation. Mineral resources have the basic and leading characteristics in national development, so it is necessary for us to take precautions and make plans early in the construction of mineral resources security system. The metallogenic conditions in China are good, and many minerals still have great prospecting prospects, especially in the deeper exploration depth than before. It is suggested that, on the basis of the successful implementation of the last round of strategic action for prospecting breakthrough, based on the new situation, new characteristics, new goals and new tasks, and guided by the new development concept, a new round of strategic action plan for prospecting breakthrough in China should be planned and implemented as soon as possible.

3. Continue to advocate resource conservation and efficient use of resources.

In essence, green development requires a sustainable development path of resource saving and environmental friendliness. As a non-renewable resource, advocating resource conservation and efficient utilization of mineral resources is an important measure to enhance China’s mineral resources support capacity and improve the ecological environment. During the Thirteenth Five-Year Plan period, the state strongly emphasized the strengthening of pollution prevention and control, and comprehensively improved the efficiency of resource and energy utilization. In 2016, the former Ministry of Land and Resources issued the Opinions on Promoting the Comprehensive Conservation and Efficient Utilization of Domestic Resources, which played a positive role in promoting the conservation and efficient utilization of mineral resources. It is suggested that relevant policies and regulations should be further promulgated and improved in the future, which will play an important role in improving China’s mineral resources support capacity and achieving high-quality development during the 14 th Five-Year Plan period.

4. Make overall planning and focus on building several important mineral resources connecting bases in the country.

According to the characteristics of resource endowment, combined with physical geography and economic and social conditions, guided by the concept of green development, we will make overall plans, build several national-level important mineral resources connecting bases in batches in a planned, focused way, and promote China’s regional economic development while improving the national mineral resources guarantee capacity.

For example, Jilin oil shale-oil sand-shale oil can be used as a connecting base of China’s energy resources. Jilin Province is blessed with oil shale, shale oil and oil sand resources. The latest evaluation shows that the oil shale resources are 247.8 billion tons, ranking first in the country. During the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" period, relevant departments have achieved breakthroughs in shale gas and shale oil. The shale oil geological resources of Qingshankou Formation in Songliao Basin can reach 7.5 billion tons, and the shale gas geological resources of Shahezi Formation in Lishu fault depression exceed 500 billion cubic meters. Turn resource advantages into development advantages, develop new formats, and vigorously promote the implementation of the revitalization strategy of the old industrial base in Northeast China.

5. Deepen the reform and improve the enthusiasm of all kinds of capital to invest in the mining field.

Further innovate the system and mechanism, improve policies and regulations, give full play to the enthusiasm of the central, local and enterprises, and better attract and encourage social capital to invest in mineral resources exploration and development.

6. Further strengthen scientific and technological innovation and build a new industry talent team.

　　CCTV News:On April 29th, the joint prevention and control mechanism of the State Council held a press conference, and asked the medical team of Beijing Hospital to tell the story of personal experience and fighting the epidemic together with the medical staff and heroic people in Hubei, and to answer questions from the media.

　　The reporter asked: The Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Beijing Hospital is a national key clinical specialty. What experience does it have in the field of traditional Chinese medicine in the process of aiding Hubei?

　　Xi Huan, executive vice president of Beijing Hospital, said that when Beijing Hospital set up a medical team, especially when it set up the second batch of medical teams on February 6, it had already considered some multidisciplinary organizational systems, including the selection of medical personnel from Chinese medicine departments.

　　On the front line of Wuhan, the director of Chinese medicine department of Beijing Hospital insisted on going deep into the ward every day to understand the changes of the condition. After the active efforts of Beijing Hospital and the cooperation and support of Tongji Sino-French New Town Campus, the medical team of Beijing Hospital’s aid to Hubei can carry out prescription treatment by using the method of Chinese medicine-free decoction granules.

　　The decoction pieces of traditional Chinese medicine need to be decocted. After it is granulated, it can be easily combined into a prescription, which is convenient for oral administration. In this way, Chinese medicine experts can truly achieve the treatment based on syndrome differentiation according to the principles of traditional Chinese medicine and the condition of each person. Different methods such as invigorating the spleen, clearing away lung heat, removing dampness and eliminating phlegm are used for different people.

　　In the process of traditional Chinese medicine treatment, the medical team of Beijing Hospital’s aid to Hubei not only used the mature Chinese patent medicines and prescriptions that everyone has recognized, but also adopted the method of dialectical treatment for each patient.

　　In addition, according to the statistics of the hospital’s information system every day, the utilization rate of traditional Chinese medicine among patients in the wards under management has reached more than 95%. Except for a few critically ill patients or those who have been treated with invasive ventilators, it may not be suitable to use traditional Chinese medicine, especially the method of prescription decoction, all patients who can use it have been treated with traditional Chinese medicine. In the process of treatment, the method of traditional Chinese medicine has played a very good role in treating the overall condition and improving the cure rate.

　　From the perspective of western medicine, in view of the lack of specific drugs in Covid-19, all the patients with pneumonia in Covid-19 treated by the Hubei Medical Team of Beijing Hospital adopt a comprehensive treatment method, and western medicine is also a comprehensive treatment method. In the comprehensive treatment, Chinese medicine has played its due role.

　　Camellia oleifera fruit picker invented by Li Lijun team of Central South Forestry University. Photo courtesy of Zhongnan Forest

　　Changsha, December 25th (Reporter Xu Zhixiong correspondent Zou Min Zhou Ying) "Our invention has been recognized as reaching the international advanced level." On 25th, Li Lijun, Dean of School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, proudly said that this newly-developed machine can match the working efficiency of 30 laborers in the past.

　　Tea oil is as famous as olive oil, and is also called "the king of oil", which has unique nutritional value. At the same time, tea oil is also a unique oil species in China, with a history of cultivation and utilization of more than 2,300 years. However, for a long time, because Camellia oleifera grows in the mountains, tea seeds need to be picked completely by hand. "It is difficult to hire people and the labor cost is high" has become a bottleneck that seriously restricts the development of the tea oil industry, and it also directly leads to the continuous rise of tea oil prices, which makes ordinary people discouraged.

　　Camellia oleifera fruit picker being tested. Photo courtesy of Zhongnan Forest

　　Therefore, as early as 2009, the scientific research team of Central South University of Forestry and Science headed by Li Lijun began to study the replacement of manual picking of tea seeds with machines. In the past ten years, they have traveled all over the main tea-oil producing areas in Hunan, fully investigated the planting and picking characteristics of tea-oil trees, and constantly tackled technical problems and improved the prototype of tea-oil tree fruit picker.

　　In view of the characteristics of Camellia oleifera forest, such as complex terrain, random tree shape and synchronous flowers and fruits, Li Lijun team listed four kinds of Camellia oleifera fruit picking methods, made nine rounds of prototypes, broke through seven key technologies, and made a lot of prototype tests, and finally the shaped Camellia oleifera fruit picker came out.

　　"This machine not only has a smart ‘ Picker ’ It can be used for various tree-shaped operations and can walk freely in complex environments such as steep slopes. " Li Lijun said that the most important thing is that it can accurately match the energy, so as to achieve only picking the fruits without damaging the flowers or affecting the yield of tea seeds.

　　Li Lijun said that at the just-concluded evaluation meeting of "Research on Key Techniques and Equipment of Camellia oleifera Fruit Picking" held by Hunan Forestry Society, the Camellia oleifera Fruit Picker of Central South Forestry University was recognized as having solved the problems of efficient picking of Camellia oleifera fruit and less flower loss, and the technology realized independent innovation, the equipment was reliable and practical, and the research results reached the international advanced level. "We plan to use one to two years to promote the beautification, multifunction, intelligence and serialization of Camellia oleifera fruit pickers, and realize mass production to benefit the majority of forest farmers." (End)

Entering 2023, tariffs have ushered in new adjustments-

From January 1st, a provisional import tariff rate lower than the MFN tariff rate will be applied to 1020 commodities; From January 2nd, the tariff rate of RCEP will be applied to some commodities originating in Indonesia. From July 1st, the eighth step will be implemented to reduce the MFN tariff rate of 62 information technology products …

In this tariff adjustment schedule, "down" has become the key word. Experts pointed out that in recent years, China has successively lowered import tariffs on related commodities, boosting global good goods to enter the China market, which not only meets the domestic consumption upgrading and enterprise production needs, but also provides countries with broader market opportunities and shares the China opening bonus.

China’s overall tariff level will drop to 7.3%.

■ Since January 1, 2023, China has imposed a provisional import tariff rate lower than the MFN tariff rate on 1,020 commodities. This number has increased by 66 items compared with the previous year, maintaining growth for four consecutive years.

■ On January 2nd, RCEP came into effect for Indonesia. So far, the world’s largest free trade agreement has come into effect for 14 of its 15 signatory members. Since January 2nd, China has implemented the agreed tariff rate applicable to RCEP ASEAN member countries in 2023 for some imported goods originating in Indonesia.

■ In 2023, China will reduce the import tariffs on homogenized mixed food, frozen blue cod, cashew nuts and other small household appliances such as coffee machines, juicers and hair dryers. Among them, the tax rate of homogenized mixed food, frozen blue cod and other commodities decreased by not less than 50%.

■ From July 1, 2023, China will also implement the eighth step of reducing the MFN tariff rate for 62 information technology products. After adjustment, the total tariff level of China will be reduced from 7.4% to 7.3%.

Further tax reduction in accordance with the FTA and RCEP

At the beginning of the new year, RCEP has made new progress: it came into effect for Indonesia on January 2. So far, the world’s largest free trade agreement has come into effect for 14 of its 15 signatory members.

China is Indonesia’s largest trading partner and the largest export market. After the entry into force of RCEP, the new measures of commodity tariff reduction and exemption introduced by China are a major attraction. The State Council Customs Tariff Commission recently released the tariff adjustment plan for 2023. According to the relevant provisions of RCEP and the entry into force of the agreement for Indonesia, the agreed tariff rate applicable to RCEP ASEAN member countries in 2023 will be implemented for some imported goods originating in Indonesia from January 2. Specifically, on the basis of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, China will reduce taxes on Indonesian-made pineapple juice and canned food, coconut juice, pepper, diesel oil, paper products, some chemicals and auto parts, among which 67.9% products originating from Indonesia will be subject to immediate zero tariffs from January 2.

"The higher level of openness advocated and led by China is urgently needed by developing economies including Indonesia." Nina Dai, Consul General of Indonesia in Shanghai, said that the China International Import Expo(CIIE) held in China enhanced the recognition and reputation of Indonesian brands in China. In 2021, the bilateral trade volume between the two countries increased by about 56%, of which Indonesian exports increased by nearly 70%. The entry into force of RCEP for Indonesia will continue to promote the deepening of economic, trade and investment relations between Indonesia and China, and further strengthen the existing cooperation.

At present, RCEP has entered the second year of effective implementation. Over the past year or so, China has implemented RCEP with high quality, fully implemented market opening commitments and agreement obligations, continuously promoted tariff reduction and exemption, and promoted trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, which has injected new impetus into the economic and trade development in the Asia-Pacific region and the world.

While reducing or exempting tariffs for newly effective members this year, the State Council Customs Tariff Commission clearly stated that it will further reduce tariffs in accordance with China’s free trade agreements with New Zealand, South Korea, Australia and Cambodia and RCEP.

"With the in-depth implementation of RCEP, New Zealand enterprises are facing more favorable tariffs and more convenient trade measures. The improvement of the business environment has enabled the company’s sales in China to grow rapidly, and it has also enabled China consumers to obtain quality products quickly." Roy Vandenke, general manager of R&D of New Zealand company Newland, said that China’s huge market provides opportunities for international companies like Newland and will also promote the recovery of the world economy. It is foreseeable that RCEP’s inclusive development dividend will make the development of the Asia-Pacific region more prosperous.

Gu Qingyang, an associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, believes that tariff reduction has greatly reduced the trade costs among member countries, made trade activities more active and effectively promoted economic growth, which is a tangible benefit brought by RCEP through trade channels. "China plays an important role in RCEP and is also the main export destination of other RCEP member countries. The stronger economic growth of China in the future will provide RCEP with a broader development space. "

Reduce tariffs on many medical products and consumer goods.

The new round of tariff adjustment involves not only the agreed tariff rate, but also many new changes in MFN tariff rate and provisional tariff rate. According to insiders, the most-favored-nation tax rate is the tax rate applicable to imported goods from most countries in China. Provisional tariff rate refers to the tariff rate for some imported and exported goods within a certain period. The provisional tariff rate is generally lower than the MFN tariff rate, which is a common way to adjust tariffs independently.

According to the tariff adjustment plan for 2023, from January 1st, China implemented a provisional import tariff rate lower than the MFN tariff rate for 1,020 commodities. This number has increased by 66 items compared with the previous year, maintaining growth for four consecutive years.

Sorting out the adjusted catalogue, the reporter found that there are many medical products, such as zero tariffs on some raw materials for anticancer drugs, anti-novel coronavirus drugs and drugs for relieving cancer pain, and reducing import tariffs on medical supplies such as dentures, raw materials for vascular stents and contrast agents.

Zhang Jianping, deputy director of the Academic Committee of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, analyzed that in the tariff adjustment in recent years, medicine has always been the key area of tax reduction, including zero tariffs on the first and second batches of anticancer drugs and raw materials for rare diseases, and reducing import tariffs on medical products such as artificial heart valves, hearing AIDS, intracranial embolic stents and artificial joints. These measures are helpful to further protect people’s health and reduce the economic burden of patients.

Consumer goods for daily use is another focus of this tariff adjustment. According to the published provisional tax rate table for imported goods, in 2023, the import tariffs on homogenized mixed food, frozen blue cod, cashew nuts and other small household appliances such as coffee machines, juicers and hair dryers will be reduced. Among them, the tax rate of homogenized mixed food, frozen blue cod and other commodities decreased by not less than 50%.

Zhang Jianping believes that at present, China’s consumer demand continues to grow, and the consumption structure is accelerating to upgrade, and the demand for foreign consumer goods with distinctive advantages is heating up. This tax reduction is conducive to conforming to the trend of consumption upgrading and meeting the new consumption demand of residents with high-quality supply; At the same time, it will help imported products compete with domestic products, guide the transformation and upgrading of the supply system, keep up with changes in consumer demand, and achieve a dynamic balance between supply and demand at a higher level.

In addition to medical products and consumer goods, this adjustment also highlights two aspects: first, zero tariffs will be imposed on potash fertilizer and unwrought cobalt, and import tariffs on some commodities such as wood and paper products and boric acid will be reduced; The second is to reduce import tariffs on lithium niobate, electronic ink screens, iridium oxide for fuel cells, roller bearings for wind turbines and other commodities. Experts said that reducing import tariffs on these goods will not only help strengthen the supply capacity of resources, but also promote the innovation and development of advanced manufacturing industries and accelerate industrial transformation and upgrading.

China’s overall tariff level will drop to 7.3%.

Frequent measures to reduce taxes have pushed the overall tariff level in China down continuously. According to the announcement issued by the State Council Customs Tariff Commission, starting from July 1, 2023, China will also implement the eighth step of MFN tariff reduction for 62 information technology products. After adjustment, the total tariff level of China will be reduced from 7.4% to 7.3%.

In December 2015, 24 WTO members, including China, the United States, Europe, Japan and South Korea, reached an agreement on expanding the product range of the Information Technology Agreement, and gradually abolished the import tariffs on 201 information technology expanded products according to the most-favoured-nation treatment principle. These products mainly include information and communication products, semiconductors and their production equipment, audio-visual products, medical devices, instruments and meters, etc. The annual global trade volume exceeds 1 trillion US dollars. In 2016, China implemented tax reduction for the products expanded by the Information Technology Agreement for the first time, and has implemented seven-step tax reduction so far.

According to the analysis of insiders, the gradual tax reduction according to the agreement will help reduce the import cost of related components and equipment, better meet the production needs of enterprises, promote the domestic related industries and economies to move towards high-quality development, and will also effectively promote global trade and high-tech development.

The general tariff level is one of the important indicators of a country’s openness in the field of goods trade. The data show that since China joined the WTO for more than 20 years, it has fully fulfilled its WTO commitments and continuously opened its market. The total tariff level has dropped from 15.3% to 7.4% in 2022, which is lower than the WTO commitment of 9.8%.

"Since 2018, China has introduced a series of measures such as implementing zero tariffs on imported anticancer drugs and encouraging the import of innovative drugs. In the following years, a number of innovative drugs of Bayer prescription drugs were approved for listing in China." Steve, chief financial officer of Bayer China, said, "We recognize and attach great importance to China’s opening to the outside world, and we have seen a very favorable business environment in China, which makes us more confident in the future."

Chiwharton, a Swiss flavor and fragrance company, is also one of the beneficiaries of China’s tariff reduction. "The reduction of tariffs has brought significant benefits to enterprises and enhanced our confidence in development." Wu Chongqing, the operation director of Chihuaton China, said that in 2022, China reduced the import tax rate of peppermint oil and orange oil, and the import cost of the company’s two main production raw materials decreased, saving tens of millions of yuan in taxes every year. "This not only eased the cost pressure caused by the rising price of raw materials, but also enabled the company to bring more cost-effective products to downstream customers and consumers, making our China factory more advantageous."

Zhang Jianping said that in recent years, China has taken the initiative to reduce the overall tariff level and introduced a series of new measures to reduce tariffs independently, which has made the world see that China is opening wider and wider, and also made China’s development better benefit the world and promoted all countries to share the big market opportunities in China. (Reporter Qiu Haifeng)

　　Beijing, August 15th (Reporter Li Jinlei) The RMB is becoming more and more international!

　　The fifth largest international payment currency, the fifth largest international reserve currency, the third largest trade financing currency and the eighth largest foreign exchange transaction currency … … This is the RMB!

　　From WeChat official account, the central bank.

　　The fifth largest international payment currency

　　On August 14th, the central bank released the Report on RMB Internationalization in 2020, and RMB internationalization reached a new level in 2019. According to the latest statistics, RMB ranks fifth among the major international payment currencies, with a market share of 1.76%.

　　According to the report, the cross-border use of RMB increased rapidly against the trend in 2019. The total amount of cross-border payment and receipt of RMB by banks on behalf of customers in the whole year was 19.67 trillion yuan, up 24.1% year-on-year. On the basis of the rapid growth in 2018, the amount of payment and receipt continued to maintain rapid growth, reaching a record high.

　　The fifth largest international reserve currency

　　According to the official currency composition (COFER) data of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), by the end of the fourth quarter of 2019, the scale of RMB reserves reached US$ 217.67 billion, accounting for 1.95% of the total foreign exchange reserves in the indicated currencies, ranking fifth, surpassing Canadian dollars by 1.88%, which is the highest level since the IMF began to publish RMB reserve assets in 2016.

　　According to incomplete statistics, at present, more than 70 central banks or monetary authorities around the world have included RMB in foreign exchange reserves.

　　In the first quarter of 2020, the share of RMB foreign exchange reserves announced by IMF further rose to 2.02%, the highest level since RMB joined the SDR (Special Drawing Rights) currency basket in 2016.

　　Currency data map.

　　The third largest trade financing currency

　　The attraction of RMB as an international financing currency is gradually emerging.

　　According to the report, the survey shows that about 82% of the overseas industrial and commercial enterprises surveyed said that when the liquidity of international currencies such as the US dollar and the euro is relatively tight, they will consider using RMB as the financing currency, which has reached a new high since 2016. 75% of the overseas industrial and commercial enterprises interviewed are willing to consider using RMB as the trade financing currency in their economic and trade exchanges with China.

　　The eighth largest foreign exchange trading currency

　　In 2019, global RMB foreign exchange transactions increased steadily. According to the latest data released by BIS in April 2019 (once every three years), RMB ranks eighth among the most active currencies in the world, and ranks first among the currencies of emerging market countries.

　　The global average daily trading volume of RMB increased from $202 billion in 2016 to $284 billion, and its share in the global foreign exchange market increased from 4% in 2016 to 4.3%.

　　Data map: The bank teller is working. Photo by Ai Qinglong

　　RMB assets are becoming more and more popular.

　　According to the report, by the end of 2019, the amount of domestic financial assets such as RMB stocks, bonds, loans and deposits held by overseas entities totaled 6.41 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 30.3%. Among them, the stock market value is 2.1 trillion yuan, the bond custody balance is 2.26 trillion yuan, the deposit balance is 1.21 trillion yuan (including interbank current account deposits), and the loan balance is 833.2 billion yuan.

　　Stocks and bonds in domestic financial markets have become the main varieties for overseas entities to allocate RMB assets. By the end of 2019, the scale of domestic RMB stocks and bonds held by overseas entities increased by 48.6% year-on-year, of which the amount of bond custody accounted for 2.3% of the total bond custody in the inter-bank bond market, and the market value of stocks held accounted for 3.6% of the total market value of A shares. In 2019, stocks accounted for 66.6% of the domestic RMB assets newly added by overseas entities.

　　In other words, more and more foreign investors are looking for gold in China’s capital market. In 2019, the cross-border receipts and payments of securities investment in RMB totaled 9.51 trillion yuan, up 49.1% year-on-year, with a net inflow of 621.9 billion yuan.

　　More foreign trade enterprises use RMB for cross-border payment and receipt.

　　According to the questionnaire of the People’s Bank of China on foreign trade enterprises, since 2019, foreign trade enterprises have been highly motivated to participate in cross-border RMB business. As of the fourth quarter of 2019, 84.6% of enterprises chose RMB as the main currency for cross-border settlement.

　　Judging from the driving factors for enterprises to choose cross-border RMB settlement, since 2019, due to the influence of external factors such as Sino-US trade friction, RMB exchange rate fluctuations have increased. Many enterprises choose cross-border RMB business as a means to avoid exchange rate risks, accounting for 64.7%. In addition, simple settlement process, reducing settlement cost and facilitating financial accounting and fund management are also the main reasons why enterprises choose to carry out cross-border RMB business, accounting for 43.2%, 36.8% and 32% respectively.

　　The RMB cross-border payment system (CIPS) has become the main channel for RMB cross-border settlement. In 2019, the CIPS system handled 1.884 million cross-border RMB businesses, amounting to 33.9 trillion yuan, up 31% and 28% respectively. It handled 7,537 transactions daily, with an amount of 135.7 billion yuan.

　　Data map of RMB. China News Service reporter Zhang Hao photo

　　Iron ore transactions are settled in RMB.

　　In recent years, China has been the largest importer and consumer of iron ore trade in the world. The import and consumption of iron ore are at the global level of 70% and 50% respectively, but it has been relatively passive in pricing.

　　Nowadays, domestic iron and steel enterprises have made continuous progress in using RMB to settle iron ore imports. In early May 2020, baoshan iron & steel, a subsidiary of China Baowu Group, and Rio Tinto completed the first cross-border RMB settlement with blockchain technology. This is another new development after baoshan iron & steel completed the first RMB cross-border settlement with Brazil’s Vale and Australia’s BHP Billiton in January and April this year respectively.

　　So far, China Baowu and the world’s three major iron ore suppliers have achieved RMB cross-border settlement, totaling more than 500 million yuan.

　　The RMB exchange rate remained basically stable.

　　At the beginning of August 2019, due to the further escalation of trade friction, the RMB exchange rate was "broken by 7" driven by market forces, but the exchange rate expectation remained stable on the whole. Since then, due to the changes in the international economic and financial situation and the trade friction situation, the RMB exchange rate has broken by 7 for many times.

　　The report pointed out that in general, cross-border capital flows and foreign exchange supply and demand were basically balanced in 2019, exchange rate expectations were generally stable, and the RMB exchange rate remained basically stable at a reasonable and balanced level.

　　Overall, in 2019, the domestic RMB exchange rate fluctuated in both directions, and its flexibility was significantly enhanced. The RMB has risen and fallen against the US dollar and other major currencies in the world. The central parity of RMB against the US dollar, Japanese yen and British pound has depreciated by 1.62%, 3.43% and 5.18% respectively compared with the end of 2018, and the central parity of RMB against the euro has appreciated by 0.41% compared with the end of 2018.

　　Renminbi and US dollars. Zhongxin. com reporter Li Jinlei

　　Raise the level of free use of RMB

　　According to the report, RMB internationalization is a natural process driven by the market. In recent years, the cross-border use of RMB has maintained rapid growth, especially since the COVID-19 epidemic hit global trade, finance and economy this year, the cross-border use of RMB has remained resilient and showed growth.

　　The Bank of China said that in the future, it will continue to serve the real economy, adhere to the principle of marketization, and steadily promote the internationalization of RMB.

　　First, adhere to market-driven. Explore and promote a higher level of trade and investment facilitation, constantly remove obstacles restricting the use of RMB at home and abroad, and create a level playing field for RMB and other major convertible currencies. Second, continue to promote the opening of domestic financial markets and the interconnection of infrastructure. Further facilitate foreign investors to use RMB to invest in domestic bonds and stocks. The third is to guide the healthy development of the offshore RMB market. Improve the freely usable level of RMB and promote the benign interaction and deep integration between offshore and onshore markets. The fourth is to improve macro-prudential management. Strengthen the monitoring, analysis and early warning of cross-border capital flows, make countercyclical adjustments, and guard against the risks of cross-border capital flows. (End)