XI STRESSES GREEN MODEL OF GROWTH

President Xi Jinping stressed the importance of environmental protection during his inspection tour of eastern China on Monday at a village where he unveiled his theory of ecological civilization 15 years ago.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visited Yucun, a village in Anji county of Zhejiang province, and talked about environmental protection.

Protecting the mountains and waters well will provide special advantages for the further development of the village, Xi said, adding that the economy should not be developed at the cost of destroying the environment.

"The environment itself means the economy. If you protect the environment, you will receive rewards from the environment," he said.

Building a modern socialist country includes both the modernization of urban and rural areas, Xi said.

After the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects is fulfilled, the government will promote rural development in all respects and build more beautiful villages, Xi said.

The development of Yucun proves that green development is the right path, which should be carried on in the future, Xi said.

In August 2005, Xi visited the village to praise the local government for stopping mining activities and closing cement factories to deal with the then serious pollution problem. During the visit, Xi put forward his famous development theory of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets", which was later known as the "Two Mountains Theory".

"Just now you said that you've made the decision to shut down some mines, which is a wise move. Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," Xi, then Party secretary of Zhejiang province, told the local officials at a meeting held 15 years ago, according to a video released by China Central Television.

Yucun now stands out as a rural scenic attraction visited by urban residents of places such as Shanghai, Hangzhou and Nanjing.

Today, the village has 280 households and its residents earned a per capita income of 49,598 yuan ($7,040) in 2019.

"The Two Mountains Theory has given a face-lift and resulted in fascinating changes to the village, improving the residents' income six times," Pan Wenge, former Party secretary of Yucun, told China Daily.

He added that Yucun's successful experience, seeking rural revitalization through green development, has not only raised villagers' incomes over the past 15 years, but also helped to improve their social awareness.

The village has witnessed no lawsuit or criminal case for the past 10 years, he said.

In 2019, the village registered a gross economic income of 280 million yuan, becoming a model of the comprehensive construction of a well-off society in rural Zhejiang.

"For our next step, we are working with nearby villages to boost regional collaborative rural development," said Wang Yucheng, head of Yucun, who briefed Xi about the village's future plan during his inspection tour on Monday.

LI: MIX OF POLICIES SET TO SPUR ECONOMY

China is ready to roll out a mix of fiscal and financing policies to better cope with challenges and spur the economy, the State Council's executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang decided on Tuesday. Policies will include advance allocation of additional local government bonds and ramping up of financial support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, the meeting said.

The meeting underscored the need to increase special local government bonds and expand effective investment in areas of weakness. On top of this year's local government bond quota already made available, additions to the quota will be expeditiously allocated in advance in accordance with set procedures.

Such funding will be directed to where the projects are, prioritizing regions with key projects, low risks and the prospect of quickly boosting effective investment that will be channeled to expediting those projects and livelihood programs.

"It is essential to make well-calibrated arrangements in advance to keep the projects under construction going and launch some new projects in light of real needs," Li said.

Inclusive financing support to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises will be intensified.

For small and medium-sized banks, relending and rediscount quotas will be increased by 1 trillion yuan ($141 billion). Targeted cuts in the required reserve ratio will be further implemented to encourage these banks to funnel all the newly obtained funding in the form of loans at concessional rates to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

"Smaller businesses have been hit the hardest by the outbreak. Their restarting operations affects the entire industrial chain and is vitally important for keeping employment stable. The government must promptly roll out support measures that benefit them all," Li said. Financial institutions will be supported in issuing 300 billion yuan of financial bonds to be used as loans exclusively targeting small firms.

The meeting called for an increase of 1 trillion yuan over the previous year in net financing from corporate credit-backed bonds to expand low-cost financing channels for private and smaller businesses.

"The small and medium banks must meet the eligibility criteria when accessing the relending quota," Li said.

The meeting also underscored the pressing need to intensify support for low-income groups, especially those living in difficult circumstances.

VISION CHINA CALLS FOR UNITY IN VIRUS BATTLE

The international community needs to better consolidate efforts and transcend all possible differences to jointly fight the novel coronavirus pandemic - a common enemy facing all mankind, speakers at the latest edition of Vision China said.

Jointly organized by China Daily and Tsinghua University, the event, "Fighting COVID-19: We are all Together" was broadcast online to a global audience at 8:30 pm on Tuesday, Beijing time.

It brought together renowned experts and scholars, a WHO representative and ordinary people who have been living in Wuhan, the city hit the hardest in China, who shared their views and stories in fighting the disease.

"Public health security is a common challenge facing all countries, and COVID-19 is the common enemy of all mankind," Chen Xu, chairwoman of the Tsinghua University Council, said in an opening address.

"Solidarity and cooperation are the most powerful weapons to fight the virus, and the only effective course of action," she said.

Zhou Shuchun, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily, also said that the whole world is now fighting against a common enemy - COVID-19.

President Xi Jinping has stated since the onset of the epidemic that China upholds the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind and calls for nations to unite in building a community of common health.

"The fast-spreading pandemic has put all people in the same boat," Zhou said while delivering his opening speech. "This is a time for unity and solidarity. This is a time for reason and responsibility."

He said the sacrifices borne by the Chinese people have served to stem the transmission of the virus, giving the rest of the world precious time to prepare for the looming crisis.

Just as the international community rallied to help China in this time of need, the country has been quick to lend a hand to other countries in sharing both knowledge and material aid, he added.

For instance, Tsinghua has made breakthroughs in antibody and vaccine research, and has provided open access to Tsinghua's drug discovery resources and platforms for global researchers, according to Chen.

Bruce Aylward, a senior adviser to the director-general of the World Health Organization, said he was impressed with China's efforts in fighting the outbreak after he visited the country in February.

Aylward stressed that when the WHO names diseases like COVID-19, it always tries to avoid creating any kind of statement attaching it to a place or to a country because that does not help, as global understanding and cooperation needs to be fostered.

1,541 ASYMPTOMATIC CASES UNDER OBSERVATION

China has 1,541 people with asymptomatic novel coronavirus infections under medical observation as of Monday, including 205 from overseas, the National Health Commission said on Tuesday.

It added that infected individuals who show no symptoms are still infectious and have caused sporadic clusters of cases.

Starting on Wednesday, China will publish the number and conditions of asymptomatic people due to heightened concerns over the risks posed by these stealth virus carriers, who were excluded from the official tally of confirmed cases, Chang Jile, head of the commission's disease control bureau, said on Tuesday.

As the country steps up screening and quarantine of symptom-free patients, health authorities are also rushing to take samples in areas severely affected by the virus for epidemiologic research on asymptomatic cases in a bid to improve its overall disease control measures, he added.

"Monitoring data has shown that some asymptomatic people have caused second-generation transmission among their close contacts, and they have set off a small number of clusters of infections," Chang said.

Limited studies suggest that the viral loads in the respiratory samples of asymptomatic patients−a key metric of an infected person's transmission capability−do not demonstrate distinct differences from those of confirmed cases, Chang added.

Based on available research, asymptomatic people are believed to be contagious, but more research is needed to understand the length of their contagion period as well as the strength and pathway of their transmission, according to a statement published on the commission's website on Tuesday.

"Some experts believed that because asymptomatic people show no symptoms of coughing or sneezing, the chance of them spreading the virus is relatively small compared to confirmed patients," the statement said.

The commission also noted that it is difficult to detect asymptomatic cases and prevent them from spreading the virus as a result of missing telltale signs of the disease and limits in testing.

"It is infeasible to make the discovery and isolation of asymptomatic cases as the dominating virus-control measure, so we will continue to focus on confirmed cases and their close contacts," the commission said, adding that past experience shows that such a strategy, coupled with keeping social distance, are effective in blocking the spread of the virus.

Since the domestic novel coronavirus epidemic has abated under aggressive containment measures, public appeals for releasing more information on asymptomatic people and tightening control over them have been running high.

During a meeting on Monday, the central leading group for epidemic control headed by Premier Li Keqiang also emphasized the monitoring and managing of asymptomatic infections and their close contacts.

Chang said local health authorities are required to report asymptomatic cases within two hours of detection and finish epidemiological research and registration of those who have come into contact with them within 24 hours. The swift response is consistent with the handling of confirmed infections.

Both asymptomatic cases and their close contacts will be quarantined in centralized facilities for 14 days. The asymptomatic won't be released until they test negative for the virus twice, he added.

"The commission has always attached great importance to asymptomatic infections and taken strict measures to cope with such cases and their close contacts," he said.

NATION USES TECH PROWESS TO HELP WORLD FIGHT VIRUS

"Hi, this is the health office," said the voice on the phone. "Can we kindly take a minute of your time to learn more about your health condition?"

It's not uncommon to receive such a call amid the COVID-19 outbreak, though for some the conversation has had a highly technological element.

Beginning in late March, some residents in South Korea have received such calls not from human beings, but from an artificial intelligence-enabled system.

Launched by the Chinese AI pioneer iFlytek and South Korean software company Hancom, the AI system is designed to help South Korea better track people who have had close contact with confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus.

"The system can improve the efficiency of screening potentially affected people, " said Wu Xiaoru, rotating president of iFlytek. "It can also be used to keep track of the health situation of discharged patients in order to reduce the burden on front-line medical workers."

The move is part of broader efforts by Chinese companies to leverage their technological prowess to help foreign nations in the global battle against the pandemic, as confirmed cases around the world rise dramatically.

By Tuesday, the pandemic had affected over 200 countries and regions, with the number of confirmed cases exceeding 719,000 and total deaths reaching 33,673, according to the World Health Organization.

From AI and 5G to cloud computing, Chinese technology companies are contributing to the world the experiences they have gathered in helping to contain the outbreak in China.

The AI-powered telephone system, for instance, played an active part in China's efforts to control the contagion. According to iFlytek, from Jan 21 to Feb 4, its AI-powered calling system benefited more than 7.67 million people on the Chinese mainland, including those in Hubei province, the region hit hardest by the epidemic, with the system making an average of 800,000 calls per day.

CHINA VOWS TO KEEP EXPORTING PROTECTIVE MATERIALS

China pledged continued support to facilitate foreign purchases of protective materials and equipment for combating COVID-19, vowing on Tuesday to maintain the stability of global industrial chains with other countries.

"As Chinese companies resume work and production, they will provide more materials to support global society to help others deal with the pandemic," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a news conference in Beijing.

A similar message was conveyed by State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday to Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic counselor to French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday via phone.

Wang said that China will keep its anti-epidemic material exports open to the rest of the world, even though domestic demand is still great.

China believes that by helping other countries get past the pandemic, it is also helping itself, according to a news release on the Foreign Ministry's website.

So far, 30 countries and two international organizations have signed agreements with Chinese exporters to purchase products including face masks, protective suits and nucleic acid testing reagents, according to Hua.

"Many other countries are in talks with Chinese companies over purchases," she said.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government has donated medical materials including surgical masks, N95 masks, protective suits, nucleic acid testing reagents and ventilators to 120 countries and four international organizations, she said.

In addition, Hua said that local Chinese governments have donated such materials to more than 50 countries through sister city channels, and Chinese enterprises have made donations to more than 100 countries and international organizations.

During his conversation with Bonne, Wang also underlined that the appeal for worldwide solidarity over the COVID-19 pandemic made by the Chinese and French heads of state during the just concluded G20 Extraordinary Leaders' Summit has injected significant vitality into global anti-epidemic cooperation.

Faced with the pandemic, the international community should boost its confidence that the virus will be defeated and increase cooperation to deal with it, he said.

According to Wang, the fight against the virus once again demonstrated that all countries are living in the same global village with a shared future.

The top priority now is to comprehensively implement the important consensus reached at the special G20 summit, he added.

For his part, Bonne said France strongly agrees with China that the international community should be united and enhance coordination to jointly overcome the rapidly spreading pandemic.

The French side appreciates China's donations of anti-epidemic supplies and hoped that China will continue to provide convenience for France's commercial purchases of anti-epidemic equipment from the country, he said.

Wang also held phone conversations with Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva and Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn on Monday.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. - RL Stevenson