SESSIONS TO SHOW WAY AHEAD

As global attention turns to Beijing with the start of China's two sessions on Thursday, experts said that the nation's biggest annual political event will indicate the direction of its socioeconomic development amid the COVID-19 pandemic and will inject confidence into the gloomy world economy.

The opening of the annual meetings of the National People's Congress, the nation's top legislature, and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the nation's top political advisory body, was postponed from the usual date in early March due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Convening the two sessions this week shows that China has made major strategic achievements in fighting the contagion and its efforts to coordinate epidemic control and socioeconomic development have taken effect, said Xu Xiujun, a leading researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of World Economics and Politics.

It also sends a message to the international community that China has strong resolve and confidence in prevailing over the epidemic and reviving its economy, Xu told China Daily.

The two sessions will see around 3,000 legislators gather in Beijing to discuss major laws and regulations as well as discuss and approve several key documents, including the Government Work Report and the national budget, along with more than 2,000 political advisers from the CPPCC.

China uses the annual political event to reveal its growth target and key economic agendas, which set domestic and international expectations. It usually also sets out major policy shifts and adjustments.

This year's landmark political event is unusual because it takes place while the pandemic is raging globally. China also faces the risk of the epidemic resurging as it embarks on economic recovery.

The political event is also important as the country aims to secure the goals of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and shaking off absolute poverty by the end of this year.

XI'S WHA SPEECH WINS ACCLAIM ACROSS WORLD

The speech by President Xi Jinping at the 73rd session of the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the WHO, has won international applause as world leaders called for solidarity in fighting COVID-19.

In his speech to the assembly on Monday, Xi outlined China's vision and support for the global fight against the novel coronavirus, which has infected more than 4.6 million people and killed more than 300,000 people worldwide.

Xi pledged that China will provide $2 billion over two years to help with COVID-19 response and with economic and social development in affected countries, in particular developing nations.

"The message from President Xi Jinping has inspired us so much to fight the pandemic," Bounkong Syhavong, president of the 72nd session of the WHA, told the assembly, attended online by representatives from 194 member states.

The assembly elected Keva Bain, permanent representative of the Bahamas to the United Nations in Geneva, as the president of the 73rd session.

Five vice-presidents were also elected from China, Republic of Congo, San Marino, Sudan and Thailand, the WHO said on Monday.

Syhavong, who is also minister of health of Laos, said that people are pleased to learn about China's success in fighting COVID-19 as well as its participation in global efforts to fight the virus.

He praised China for playing an important role in providing valuable assistance, such as in medical equipment and expertise, to developing countries.

"They have also supported the World Health Organization to take charge of the global effort that is needed at this difficult time," he added.

Syhavong said that people highly value Xi's concept of a community of health for humankind, adding that China has demonstrated the true spirit of global partnership and humanity. "We appreciate that," he said.

His opinion was widely shared by many opinion leaders worldwide.

"President Xi's words are directing China to support the WHO and global needs, especially in developing nations. We need such leadership and concrete support across the world," said Stephen Perry, chairman of the 48 Group Club, a British organization promoting commercial, cultural and educational relations with China.

"We need a good global response to COVID-19 and China has made its contribution quickly and substantially", he added.

In his speech, Xi said COVID-19 vaccine development and deployment in China, when available, will be made a global public good. This will be China's contribution to ensuring vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries.

CHINA TO DRIVE GLOBAL GDP GROWTH THIS YEAR AND NEXT

China is one of a few large economies expected to expand and substantially contribute to global GDP growth in 2020 and 2021, said the authors of a latest report jointly issued by Oliver Wyman and Silk Road Associates.

"Even with manufacturing challenges and the potentially longer and more pervasive challenges that may exist in some of the service sector, we still see growth across China and that being a key source of global growth," said Peter Reynolds, partner and head of Oliver Wyman China.

"We've seen a relatively quick rebound, a V-shaped bounce, in manufacturing. Well over 90 percent of the factories are now back online, and many of them continue to be working to fulfill the backlog of orders that existed as the shutdowns over the Chinese Lunar New Year and their off period came through," Reynolds said.

Imports of various supplies, essentially the raw materials used in manufacturing, remained very robust throughout the period, allowing the manufacturing rebound to happen.

China's value-added industrial output declined 8.4 percent year-on-year in the first quarter as industrial production was seriously affected by the novel coronavirus outbreak, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

"If you add the Chinese Lunar New Year break, plus the additional couple of weeks that things were stopped, you actually have 17 percent less operational time. So we actually see that 8.4 percent reduction as being quite a positive result in the light of the amount of time the factories needed to shut from a manufacturing side of things," Reynolds added.

"The different economic sectors and regions within China will experience varying paces of recovery, and competing influences will shape the path of growth over the next 12 months depending on the sector concentration in each region," he said.

The recovery of the overall Chinese economy tends to be concentrated in certain areas, according to data comparing changes in pollution levels over a 12-month period for 650 urban areas, said Ben Simpfendorfer, founder and CEO of Silk Road Associates, an advisory services provider.

Some pollution was identified in the Yangtze River Delta, suggesting that the recovery in coal-fired power plants and State-owned industries, especially heavy industries, was more intense there, he said.

From early to mid-February, analysts saw the return of migrant workers, particularly in Shenzhen and Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

Although exports will struggle with global demand falling, the offsetting impact of imports−especially in a very low oil price environment−will have a relatively substantial mitigating effect against the decline of exports, Reynolds said.

LARGEST SATELLITE COMPLETES TESTING

China's biggest, heaviest and most advanced satellite has completed all of its major technology demonstrations and verifications, a testament to the efficient design of the country's new-generation satellite platform, the DFH 5, according to the China Academy of Space Technology.

Shijian 20, a technology demonstration satellite developed by the Beijing-based academy, is tasked with conducting 84 in-orbit tests and experiments. As of now, all the major tests have been completed with "satisfactory results", the academy said in a statement.

The finished tasks included the first orbital demonstrations for ultra-high-capacity communications, ultra-high-speed laser communications, electric propulsion and other advanced technologies.

The results displayed the reliability and capability of the DFH 5 platform and proved the efficiency of several key space-based technologies and new equipment, the statement said, adding that the satellite will continue to conduct other tests and experiments.

Shijian 20 was lifted by a Long March 5 carrier rocket at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province on Dec 27 and reached its preset position in a geosynchronous orbit about 36,000 kilometers above the Earth in early January.

With a designed life span of 16 years, it is the second satellite based on the DFH 5 after the Shijian 18 was lost during the Long March 5's ill-fated second flight in July 2017.

With a liftoff weight of more than 8 metric tons, the satellite carries more than 10 world-class technological payloads and is equipped with the country's largest, longest and most sophisticated solar arrays.

Li Feng, chief designer of the Shijian 20, said that some of the tests and experiments are cutting-edge and strategically significant, and their results will be useful in the research and development of next-generation space technologies.

Wang Mian, a satellite designer at the academy, explained that the ultra-high-speed laser communications technologies feature superfast data transmission, high security and good anti-electromagnetic interference capability. The in-orbit experiments for the next-generation technologies laid a solid foundation for China to build space-based high-speed communication and internet networks.

The electric propulsion technology also has huge potential in the space industry because it enables spacecraft to save a lot of space used by fuel storage and give that space to mission payloads.

Consequently, the weight of the satellite can be substantially decreased, so a rocket can send two satellites into orbit at the same time, or a launch contractor can use a smaller rocket to carry the satellite, which will greatly reduce launch costs, designers said.

Zhou Zhicheng, chief engineer at the China Academy of Space Technology and project manager of Shijian 20, said that compared with DFH 5's predecessors, the new platform features a larger carrying capacity, higher transmission capability and longer life span and will better serve the needs of high-capacity satellites over the next 20 years.

Hao Yanyan, a supervisor in the Shijian 20 program, said each DFH 5-based satellite is three times stronger than those developed on its most recent predecessor, DFH 4, in regard to operational capacity.

TRANSPORT PROJECTS TO GET MORE FUNDING

China will inject more funds into transportation infrastructure and push forward the development of self-driving technology to build national strength in transportation, said Minister of Transport Li Xiaopeng on Tuesday.

The country pumped over 3.24 trillion yuan ($456 billion) in investments into the transportation sector last year, adding about 8,000 kilometers of railways and over 320,000 km of highways, as well as world-class projects such as Beijing Daxing International Airport and the Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway line, Li said.

As China has effectively contained the spread of the novel coronavirus, the ministry will speed up the resumption of work on major infrastructure projects to promote investment in the sector this year, he said at a news conference held by the State Council Information Office.

To date, 99.7 percent of transportation projects are under construction, he said, adding that the ministry will ramp up support to accelerate the resumption of key projects to meet the country's annual investment goals on traffic networks.

China planned to spend at least 2.7 trillion yuan on transportation infrastructure projects this year, including 800 billion yuan on railways, 1.8 trillion yuan on roads and waterways and 90 billion yuan on civil aviation facilities, according to the ministry.

Li also noted that transportation authorities have been fast-tracking a number of new construction projects in line with the country's development strategies, and the country now has a reserve pool of transportation projects with a total investment value of more than 800 billion yuan that can start as soon as the preliminary work is done.

Meanwhile, the ministry pledged to expedite the research and application of self-driving technology, which will provide support for technological innovation for building a comprehensive modern transport system. Liu Xiaoming, vice-minister of transport, said that self-driving technology has played an important role in the next round of technological innovation and industrial transformation worldwide, and China has been promoting its development by "encouraging exploration, tolerating failure, ensuring safety and combating monopoly".

The country will kick off pilot programs for autonomous driving in Beijing and Shanghai, as well as Xiongan New Area in Hebei province, to promote intelligent transport with the support of technologies including 5G communication and the domestically developed Beidou navigation satellite system.

Transport authorities have also stepped up research on technical standards to adapt the construction of new roads to the development of driverless vehicles, he said, adding the ministry issued technical specifications last month for highway auxiliary facilities adapted to automated driving.

The ministry has worked closely with multiple departments to guide the road tests of intelligent connected vehicles in an orderly manner and designated five research and development centers for self-driving technology, he added.

The country aims to build a comprehensive modern transportation system by 2035 that is safe, convenient, efficient, green and economical, according to the document jointly released by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council in September.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness. - Dalai Lama