XI CALLS FOR STRONGER CPC IN THE NEW ERA

The Communist Party of China must better implement its organizational line in the new era to make itself stronger, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, said on Monday.

Xi made the remark while presiding over a group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

To exercise long-term governance, remain vital all the time, and lead the Chinese people to achieve national rejuvenation, the CPC must make itself stronger, which is the most important issue, Xi said.

The CPC's organizational line in the new era is of great significance to strengthening the Party's creativity, unity and capability, he said.

Noting that Wednesday marks the 99th anniversary of the founding of the CPC, Xi extended greetings to all Party members on behalf of the CPC Central Committee.

The Political Bureau's study session is not only an important event to celebrate the Party's birthday, but also a way to encourage the whole Party to further understand and better implement the Party's organizational line in the new era, Xi said.

The CPC's history has proved that the Party thrived when it upheld the correct organizational line and it met setbacks when it deviated from the correct line, Xi said.

The CPC Central Committee has taken a number of important measures to strengthen the Party's overall leadership and improve the Party's organizational system since the CPC's 18th National Congress, Xi said.

Xi pointed out that the Party's leadership must be upheld and improved, and socialism with Chinese characteristics must be upheld and developed.

The goal of strengthening the Party's organizational building is to consolidate the Party's overall leadership, thus providing a strong basis for the building of socialism with Chinese characteristics, Xi said.

Facing a complicated situation and arduous tasks, the CPC should focus on the strategic goal of national rejuvenation and effectively handle major challenges, risks, obstacles and contradictions, Xi said.

He pointed out that the Party's leadership is the fundamental guarantee for the fulfillment of national rejuvenation.

The whole Party must be guided by the CPC's scientific theories, and all Party organizations, members and officials should master the theoretical tools of Marxism, Xi said.

HK SETTING UP OFFICES TO HANDLE NEW LAW

Hong Kong officials on Tuesday threw their weight behind the passage of a national security law for the special administrative region, pledging efforts to fulfill the requirements of the law to establish special local departments to handle national security issues.

Secretary of Justice Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah said in a statement that a dedicated office under the Department of Justice has been set up to handle prosecutions and related legal matters on national security.

As a member of the Committee for Safeguarding National Security, which will be established and chaired by the chief executive, Cheng said she is committed to assisting in formulating policies and implementing legal system requirements.

Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu, together with heads of the city's six disciplinary forces, including Police Commissioner Tang Ping-keung, said in another statement that they will "render full support "to implementation of the national security law in the city.

Lee said he will lead disciplinary forces to fully discharge their responsibilities, adding that a special police unit, as required in the new law, is being set up as part of an enforcement mechanism for safeguarding national security.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, on Tuesday unanimously passed a national security law for Hong Kong, prohibiting acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign or external forces that endanger national security.

The law was listed in Annex III of the Basic Law and took effect later on Tuesday.

Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen, president of Hong Kong's Legislative Council, also welcomed the security law, saying he believes it will protect the vast majority of law-abiding residents in the city.

He appealed for the international community's understanding of the law, which is a boon to the city's economic recovery and its global presence as a financial center.

In a joint statement, all Hong Kong deputies to the National People's Congress expressed "unreserved support" for the legislation, citing legal gaps exposed by a year of protest violence potentially fueled by foreign intervention.

PARTY FORGES AHEAD BY PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST

Boasting a membership of more than 90 million and governing the world's most populous country, the Communist Party of China is celebrating its 99th birthday on Wednesday.

Over the past seven decades, the CPC has transformed China from a poverty-stricken and backward country into the second-largest economy globally.

The biggest political party in the world is also leading the country in eliminating absolute poverty nationwide and building China into a moderately prosperous society in all respects by the time the CPC marks its centenary next year.

According to observers, the secret of the Party's governance success is that it adopts a people-centered philosophy internally and continues to improve well-being. Externally, it upholds peaceful development and win-win cooperation and remains committed to advancing the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Liu Haitao, a professor at the National Academy of Governance specializing in scientific socialism, said the CPC has represented the fundamental interests of the Chinese people since it was founded in 1921, and has secured broad social support for its long-term governance.

The Party has continued such governance of the country through its close bonds with the public, Liu said. These connections enable it to implement its policies, decisions and development strategies to promote national progress and improve people's livelihoods.

Serving the people wholeheartedly is the fundamental purpose of the CPC, as laid down in the Party Constitution and upheld by generations of its leadership.

NEW RAILWAYS GIVE YANGTZE REGION A PUSH

The Yangtze River Delta region, one of China's most economically active, open and innovative areas, is gaining momentum in regional integration with two newly opened railway lines to enhance its transportation interconnection, according to the country's railway operator.

One of the two new lines−Shanghai-Suzhou-Nantong Railway, connecting Shanghai with Nantong in neighboring Jiangsu province−is scheduled to start operating on Wednesday, according to China State Railway Group.

With a designed speed of 200 kilometers per hour, the 143-kilometer rail line will cut travel time between Shanghai and Nantong to about one hour from the current 3.5 hours, according to the company.

The railway, an important part of a planned coastal passage, will connect the northern part of Jiangsu with neighboring Shandong and Zhejiang provinces via existing railways and a new line under construction.

The company also noted that the opening of the line is of great significance in efforts to enhance the role of Shanghai in driving the regional economy and promoting the regional integration of the Yangtze River Delta, which consists of Shanghai municipality and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui.

Another new railway−the Shangqiu-Hefei-Hangzhou High-speed Railway, which threads the provinces of Henan, Anhui and Zhejiang−opened on Sunday, as did its last section linking Anhui's Hefei and Zhejiang's Huzhou.

The 794.5-kilometer route, with a maximum designed speed of 350 kilometers per hour, is expected to further boost the coordinated development of the Yangtze River Delta region, the company said.

Wang Anli, deputy general manager of an industrial robot arm company in Xuancheng, in Anhui, is now able to travel to meet her clients 210 kilometers away in less than an hour thanks to the opening of the railway.

Wang said that before the new line opened, the journey from Xuancheng to Hangzhou in Zhejiang took her about two hours to complete as she needed to take a one-hour bus to the nearest high-speed railway station before heading to Hangzhou.

WEATHER CENTER ISSUES RAIN ALERT FOR SOUTH CHINA

The National Meteorological Center on Wednesday issued a blue alert for heavy rain, the lowest level of the ranking, as a burst of rain is forecast to continue hitting most parts of South China from Wednesday to Thursday.

So far the center has issued warnings for torrential rain for 30 consecutive days, which is rare, observers said.

According to the center, this round of rain will batter more than seven regions -- the provinces of Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan, Fujian and Zhejiang, Chongqing municipality and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

In these areas, precipitation could reach anywhere from 100 to 150 millimeters, which will produce risks of disasters, such as torrential floods.

According to the center, since June 1, five rounds of heavy rainfall have hit southern China, and nearly 1.5 million square kilometers of land have seen at least 200 millimeters of accumulated precipitation.

Hu Xiao, a chief forecaster with the China Meteorological Administration, said heavy rainfall during the flood season was caused by abundant water vapor.

“The Pacific and Indian oceans are two powerful suppliers of the water vapor in our country. In summer, wind usually blows from south to north, transporting the vapor from the ocean to the land."

Hu warned that as rainy days increased, areas with frequent heavy rainfall are vulnerable to disasters such as floods in small or medium rivers, mudslides and mud-rock flows. The public must take precautions, including cutting outdoor electricity and suspending outdoor operations.

WORLD'S FIRST FLEXIBLE DC POWER GRID STARTS OPERATION

The world's first flexible direct current (DC) power grid project has been put into operation, creating 12 world firsts, Sina Finance reported on Wednesday.

The Zhangbei renewable energy flexible DC grid test and demonstration project was completed and put into operation, said Mao Weiming, chairman of the State Grid Corporation.

As the world's first DC networked power grid project, the core technologies and key equipment were created by China, and 12 of them are pioneering examples.

These innovative technologies will be used in the Beijing Winter Olympic Stadium, making it the first stadium with a 100 percent clean energy power supply in the history of the games.

The project is of great significance for improving clean energy delivery ability, supporting the Green Olympics, implementing the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development strategy and driving independent R&D and innovative manufacturing of key technical equipment, said Liu Baohua, deputy director of the National Energy Administration.

The flexible DC transmission technology has strong controllability, fast power adjustment speed and a flexible operation mode compared with AC and conventional DC. It is considered the "golden key" to solve the problem of large-scale consumption of new energy.

The project has driven local wind and photovoltaic power generation investment to reach 60 billion yuan ($8.5 billion). It can deliver 14 billion kilowatt-hours of clean electricity every year, fully meeting the power needs of 26 Winter Olympic venues in the Beijing and Zhangjiakou areas.

The project can also help save 49 million tons of standard coal and 12.8 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

The power grid is an important infrastructure segment related to the national economy and the people's livelihood with a large investment, a long industrial chain, and significant medium- and long-term economic benefits.

State Grid Co Ltd has increased its fixed-asset investment to 460 billion yuan from 418.6 billion yuan planned at the beginning of the year, focusing on UHV, new energy vehicle charging piles and digital infrastructure.

DOMESTIC SALES PLATFORMS MAY EASE WOES OF EXPORTERS

China will help export-oriented companies to set up platforms for domestic sales and encourage them to participate in the country's big-ticket investment projects to offset the shortfall in revenue from exports due to the COVID-19 epidemic and inject fresh momentum, officials said on Tuesday.

They made the remarks after the State Council (China's Cabinet) issued a circular in late June to introduce measures to help exporters sell products domestically and help the foreign trade sector overcome difficulties.

The government will support domestic exporters to better connect with e-commerce platforms focusing on domestic sales and offer them more access to take part in the country's "new infrastructure" and new urbanization initiatives, as well as other major projects to seek new growth points, said Yang Guoliang, deputy director-general of the department of foreign trade under the Ministry of Commerce.

He said there is great growth potential for export products to be sold domestically. The growing internal market demand will provide an attractive domestic market for exporters, such as agricultural products, electronic appliances, light industry, textiles and clothing.

Domestic manufacturers are encouraged to make products on one production line, using the same standards and the same quality requirements for both foreign and domestic markets, to cut costs and achieve the transformation from exports to domestic sales. The policy will be expanded to the fields of general consumer goods and industrial goods, according to a newly released government document.

He said China will not only guide foreign trade companies to participate in the construction of major industrial and communication projects to widen their sales channels via the leading role of effective investment, but also accurately meet consumer demand by encouraging them to develop the right products, create their own brands, make full use of new sales models, and promote the integration of online and offline businesses.

OUTBOUND INVESTMENT TO BRI COUNTRIES BECOMES A NEW GROWTH AREA

The countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative have become a new growth area for China's outbound direct investment, according to a report released by the Chinese Academy of Sciences on Monday.

Last year, China's non-financial direct investment to those countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative reached $15.04 billion, accounting for 13.6 percent of the total investment, while the brick-and-mortar projects were worth $154.89 billion, accounting for 59.5 percent of the total, said the latest Report of Country Risk of Overseas Investment from China.

The investment risk in the emerging economies is relatively higher than in the advanced economies, but the emerging economies remain the most promising destination for China's overseas investment. Furthermore, the average investment risk in the countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative is lower than in the overall risk, the annual report said.

The report rated 114 countries with 18 countries at a low risk level, 68 at a moderate risk level, and 28 at a high risk level.

Singapore took the first spot among the countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative to attract the most investment from China, and it is also a country with a low investment risk.

From 2019, the intensifying trade conflict and increasingly tense geopolitical environment have aggravated uncertainties for international direct investment and international cooperation in the future, and the COVID-19 pandemic left many countries facing crises involving threats to public health, the domestic economy, external demand, commodity prices and capital flow.

Although some countries have implemented supportive fiscal policies, and also monetary policies to ease the tension in financial markets, moderate risk will continue to dominate the economic outlook, said Wang Bijun, an associate research fellow at the Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The reported noted that, among advanced economies, the investment risk in the US, Canada, New Zealand and the UK saw an increase in 2020 compared to 2019.

By the end of 2018, more than 27,000 Chinese domestic investors had set up 43,000 enterprises for overseas investment in 188 countries and regions, and over 80 percent of the world's countries and regions have Chinese investment, said the report.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Everybody pities the weak; jealousy you have to earn. - Arnold Schwarzenegger