Three-minute news, Friday, July 21, 2023

Domestic

1) On July 20, Xi Jinping met with former US Secretary of State Kissinger at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing: We haven't forgotten our old friend.

Xi Jinping presided over the second meeting of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs, emphasizing the need to strengthen arable land protection, improve arable land quality, and steadily expand agricultural production space.

2) On the morning of July 20, the National Financial Regulatory Administration's 31 provincial-level regulatory bureaus, 5 separately planned city regulatory bureaus, and 306 municipal regulatory sub-bureaus were officially established. This marks a significant step forward in financial regulatory system reform and the achievement of phased results.

3) [Rule of Law] In the first half of the year, procuratorial organs nationwide prosecuted more than 700,000 criminal suspects. The first trial of Li Guohua, former general manager of China Unicom, on charges of bribery and abuse of power, opened. Wang Yongsheng, former vice president of the State Development Bank, is under investigation. Pan Yiming, former vice chairman of the Ganzhou Municipal People's Congress Standing Committee in Jiangxi Province, was expelled from the Party. Zhang Yuguang, deputy director of the Jilin Provincial Department of Natural Resources, is under review and investigation. Eight college students in Suning County, Hebei Province, were reported for running a summer class; the Education Bureau: Immediately suspend classes and refund fees. A man in Changsha was criminally detained for killing his wife in the street; the victim's relatives: She had evidence of her husband's bigamy.

4) The Shenzhou-16 astronaut crew successfully completed all the planned tasks of the extravehicular activity. Four satellites launched with one rocket! On July 20, China successfully launched the Tianmu-1 meteorological constellation 07-10 satellites in Jiuquan.

The 4-second electromagnetic ejection microgravity experimental device developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Space Application Center has been put into trial operation.

5) GDP data for 15 provinces in the first half of the year: 9 provinces grew faster than the national average, with Shanghai leading at 9.7%. In terms of total economic output, Guangdong successfully exceeded 6 trillion yuan in the first half of the year, while Shanghai, Hebei, and Beijing successfully surpassed 2 trillion yuan.

6) The Lai-Rong High-speed Railway in Shandong Province was reported for cutting corners and hiding major safety hazards. Shandong Provincial Department of Transportation: An investigation team has been established to conduct a thorough investigation and verification. China Construction Eighth Engineering Bureau stated: We attach great importance to this and will fully cooperate with the investigation team.

7) The China Meteorological Administration's Meteorological Navigation Center was established to help ships select the best routes.

From July 21, many areas in North China may experience the strongest rainfall this year, and high temperatures will return to many areas in the south. The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters launched a level-four emergency response for flood prevention in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei.

8) [Military] The Central Military Commission's General Office issued "Opinions on Establishing a Prevention and Early Warning Mechanism for Corruption Risks in the Military". Recently, at an airport of a certain air force brigade in the Northern Theater Command, fighter jets roared and wings soared. After receiving instructions from the control tower, a certain type of helicopter quickly took off and carried out live-fire shooting training.

9) [Hong Kong and Macao] Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee will lead a delegation to visit Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia from July 23. A Hong Kong e-sports player's ID contained words related to "black violence," resulting in a 3-year suspension and disqualification from the Asian Games.

10) [Taiwan] Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng: Taiwan is China's Taiwan; this is the key to understanding and handling the Taiwan issue. A mainland student group visited Dong Hua University in Taiwan, and young people from both sides exchanged through dance, accompanied by Ma Ying-jeou. A meeting with Taiwanese businessmen was held in Dongguan, Guangdong on July 19 to provide convenience for Taiwanese people and businesses in their development in mainland China.

International

1) Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Wang Huning met with the Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front. The US plans to increase restrictions on investment in China and chip exports; Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng warned: If there are further restrictions, we will certainly respond. The Chinese Mission to the EU and the Embassy in Belgium celebrated the 96th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army. Happy Birthday! Fu Bao, the giant panda in South Korea, celebrated its 3rd birthday, lying beside a cake and enjoying a feast.

2) The High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development ministerial meeting was held at the UN headquarters in New York from July 17 to 19. Chinese representative: Adhere to the principle of joint consultation, joint construction, and shared benefits, and strive to achieve common development. The first Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-Central Asia Summit was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on July 19. Foreign media: Aid to Ukraine will run out, the EU plans to establish a new €20 billion "Ukraine Defense Fund".

3) Strongly supporting Biden's re-election, former US House Speaker Pelosi: He's younger than me, he's still a kid.

US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed that the US is collecting DNA from Chinese and Russian people, suspected to be used to develop ethnic bioweapons. The US will provide another $1.3 billion in aid to Ukraine; Musk said: It would be great if we could know how this money is spent. US media criticized the US aid to Ukraine's cluster munitions: These evil weapons will cause more civilian deaths. US report: Nearly 800,000 Americans die or become permanently disabled each year due to misdiagnosis. The US border immigration crisis remains unresolved, and New York City is distributing flyers encouraging immigrants to go to other cities. The president of Stanford University resigned due to academic misconduct: Three papers were retracted, and two need corrections. US scientists witnessed the self-healing process of metal for the first time; if the new discovery can be utilized, it may bring about an engineering revolution.

4) Russian Ministry of Defense: Ships sailing to Ukrainian ports along the Black Sea will be considered potential military cargo carriers. Russian Prime Minister Mishustin said that the Russian government plans to increase the supply of fifth-generation aircraft to its armed forces; the Russian Aerospace Forces will have 22 Su-57 fighters by 2024. Russian media: The northwestern region of Crimea was attacked by drones, resulting in the death of one girl. The head of the Ukrainian military intelligence agency confirmed that the fire at the Crimean military training ground was carried out by Ukrainian personnel. The head of MI6 encouraged Russians to spy for the UK; the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson responded: You are the one who destroyed those who believed in you first. Foreign media: Wagner forces are entering Belarus; the Ukrainian army is strengthening border security. Ukrainian media: Wagner and Belarusian border guards clashed.

5) With a bleak economy, most Britons want to strengthen ties with the EU, and "regretting Brexit" has become a buzzword. A shooting occurred in downtown Auckland, New Zealand on July 20, resulting in 3 deaths and 6 injuries; no reports of Chinese citizens injured. New Prime Minister Hipkins: The Women's World Cup opening ceremony will proceed as planned. The Swedish embassy in Iraq was attacked and set on fire by protesters.

6) Japan continues to have a large trade deficit in the first half of the year. A Japanese diplomat was attacked in the US, possibly an anti-Asian hate crime. Japanese media: Chinese customs intercepted some Japanese aquatic products, putting pressure on the plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water.

7) An electrocution accident occurred on a bridge in Uttarakhand, India, killing at least 16 people and injuring 7. A landslide occurred in western India on July 19, killing at least 5 people and leaving nearly 100 missing. On July 19, a small plane crashed in Colombia, killing 6 people.

Finance and Securities

1) The central bank and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange raised the macro-prudential adjustment parameter for cross-border financing from 1.25 to 1.5, effective July 20, 2023. The latest Loan Prime Rate (LPR) remains unchanged.

2) The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) publicly solicited opinions and suggestions on "Promoting the Development of the Silver Hair Economy".

3) The NDRC will soon introduce several measures to promote the development of the private economy and formulate and issue policy documents to promote private investment. The All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC) will continue to build platforms connecting private enterprises with local governments.

4) China's total installed capacity of renewable energy power generation has exceeded 1.3 billion kilowatts. Products without "3C certification" are prohibited from use; China introduces "new insurance" for battery safety.

5) Pony Ma, Chairman and CEO of Tencent, wrote an article: striving to make greater contributions in high-quality development. Zhang Jun, Tencent's Public Relations Director: Overseas users can use WeChat Pay in most merchants within the country. Zhang Li, co-chairman of R&F Properties, has returned to China, and the bribery case involving US officials has come to a temporary end.

6) China Southern Airlines responds to a nearly 40,000 RMB ticket with only 1 bottle of water: Specific arrangements will be made on board. Hunan Airlines responds to online rumors that a plane forgot to refuel before takeoff: The delay was due to weather conditions.

7) Yesterday's closing prices:

Shanghai Composite Index: 3169.52/-0.92%

Shenzhen Component Index: 10816.27/-1.06%

ChiNext Index: 2155.65/-0.99%

Hang Seng Index: 18928.02/-0.13%.

Culture, Education, Sports and Entertainment

1) The Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the China Association for Science and Technology, and five other departments jointly publicized the advanced deeds of "The Most Beautiful Science and Technology Workers" to the whole society.

2) The Ministry of Education issued a notice, launching the application work for the guidelines of the third phase of the supply-demand docking employment and education project. The deadline for application is September 15, 2023.

3) Online rumors that "China will issue licenses to educational training companies to resume extracurricular tutoring" were debunked by the China Association of Private Education: It is purely a rumor, maliciously hyped up by those with ulterior motives. A male student from Liangshan, Sichuan, was admitted to Peking University: He comes from a mountain village and was still pulling beans and cutting pigweed before admission. Xi'an: An investigation team was set up to verify the eligibility of "returned students" one by one.

4) The China National Museum of Modern Literature will exhibit 233 pieces of museum collections, including many precious revolutionary relics, open to the public.

5) Creating multiple historical moments, the 2023 Women's World Cup kicked off in Auckland, New Zealand on the evening of July 20.

The International Gymnastics Federation allows Russian and Belarusian athletes to return to international competitions.

6) Olympic swimming champion Sun Yang and former artistic gymnast Zhang Doudou officially announced their marriage.

Life Services

1) Beijing will experience local torrential rain from the night of the 20th to the 22nd. The Beijing Meteorological Observatory issued a blue alert for torrential rain. Beijing strengthens the management of housing rental operators, proposing to require real estate agencies to publicize their charges, etc. New service quality requirements for Beijing's "one-day tours" will be officially implemented on October 1. Beijing introduces 18 measures to support the cultivation of high-skilled talents.

2) Wireless charging facilities for new energy vehicles are put into use in the core area of the Hangzhou Asian Games. It takes 15 minutes to charge up to 60 kilowatt-hours, meeting the energy needs of vehicles for 400 kilometers.

Hangzhou issued its first red alert for torrential rain this year, with heavy rain in some areas. Jiangsu's summer grain output reached 28.142 billion jin, achieving a bumper harvest. The construction of the Hangzhou-Wenzhou High-speed Railway has begun full-line track laying, and the construction will be completed by the end of the year.

3) In the first half of the year, Guangdong's industrial added value above designated size increased by 2.5% year-on-year, and the industrial economy showed positive signs. Seizing the "window" after the typhoon, Maoming, Guangdong, kicked off this year's longan export season. Guangzhou University's minimum admission score for general physics is 453 points. The Education Examination Institute responded: unpopular majors were picked up.

4) "Easing" instead of "blocking", incorporating mobile vendors into "fixed-time and fixed-point" unified management, Xiamen's "stall regulations and points" allow urban civilization and the smoke and fire of life to rise together. Hunan encourages employers to provide childcare services.

5) The 2023 Hohhot Forum on the Synergistic Development of the Elderly Care Industry and the Elderly Care Industry and the Elderly Care Service Industry Expo opened in Hohhot City, Inner Mongolia on July 20.

6) Comprehensive convenient service stations at the village level in Gansu Province have achieved full coverage: agricultural and sideline products are accelerating their "entry into cities". Qinghai: The construction of a cross-Qinghai-Tibet Railway turntable bridge box girder is completed, creating three records: the largest span, the highest altitude, and the largest turntable weight.

7) There will be heavy rain in North China and Northeast China, and high temperatures will continue in Xinjiang. From 8 pm on July 20 to 8 pm on July 21, there will be heavy to torrential rain in parts of central and southern Hebei, western and southern mountainous areas of Beijing, western Tianjin, northwestern Shandong, eastern and southwestern Hubei, and Chongqing, with heavy to extremely heavy rain in southern Beijing, central Hebei, and western Chongqing.