MEETING BOOSTS CHINA-ARAB TIES AMID CONTAGION

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought China and Arab nations much closer together through the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum and the mechanism of political parties' dialogue as they take concrete steps to build a China-Arab community with a shared future, officials and experts said.

The ninth ministerial meeting of the forum, held on Monday via video link, rolled out specific steps for China and Arab nations to strengthen their strategic partnership toward the building of a community with a shared future in the new era.

The meeting, co-chaired by State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi, generated three documents as its outcomes−a joint statement of China and Arab nations in solidarity and cooperation against COVID-19, the Amman Declaration demonstrating countries' mutual support for each other's core interests and their determination to build a community with a shared future, and an action plan for their practical cooperation under the framework of the forum between 2020 and 2022.

China and Arab states agreed to hold the China-Arab summit as part of efforts to enhance the level of their relationship, Wang Di, director-general of the Foreign Ministry's Department of West Asian and North African Affairs, said after the meeting.

Saudi Arabia expressed willingness to convene the summit at a time to be agreed, Wang Di said.

"The decision to host such a summit is in itself a testament to the strong determination of both sides to elevate our strategic partnership and deepen cooperation across the board," he added.

Foreign ministers of League of Arab States members and the league's Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit attended the meeting. President Xi Jinping, who has attached great importance to developing cooperation with Arab nations, sent a congratulatory message to the meeting expressing hope that China and Arab states can enhance strategic communication, coordination and pragmatic cooperation, and make more substantial and practical efforts in building the China-Arab community with a shared future.

EUROPE CAN'T AFFORD TO FULLY BAN HUAWEI

With the United States continuing to lobby its allies to ban Huawei from their 5G networks, European countries have become more ambivalent about partnering the Chinese telecommunications equipment giant.

Washington has been putting pressure on European countries through various means, including spreading rumors that China uses Huawei's technology to spy on other countries, threatening to stop sharing intelligence with countries that use Huawei's 5G technology, and imposing sanctions on Huawei and those supplying it microchips. This has prompted many countries to rethink their decision to use Huawei products and technology.

The United Kingdom government, for example, has indicated it would gradually reduce Huawei's share in−and ultimately exclude it from−the country's telecom sector. Also, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has proposed a 10-country telecom alliance, called "D10 Club", to prop up Huawei's competitors. And the Czech Republic, Poland, Sweden, Estonia, Romania, Denmark, Latvia and Greece have agreed to use vendors other than Huawei in their 5G networks.

Countries such as Italy and the Netherlands have persisted with Huawei as a vendor. But Spain, Portugal, Austria, Finland and some other European countries have been mulling whether to declare Huawei as a "high-risk company". Due to the continuous blustering of the US, more countries now suspect that Huawei could use the loopholes in their telecom systems to conduct surveillance operations. Which means Huawei faces increasing resistance in European countries.

Worse, since the US has been blaming China for the novel coronavirus pandemic, which apart from claiming more than half a million lives has also caused global economic recession, many countries have become hostile toward China, and many European states have limited the role of Huawei in or banned it from their telecom sectors.

FUNDRAISING OF MAINLAND FIRMS ON HKEX UP IN H1

A total of 36 enterprises from the Chinese mainland debuted in the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Market (HKEX) in the first half of the year, down 20 percent in numbers but up 37.1 percent in fundraising amount year-on-year, the Securities Daily reported on Wednesday, quoting data from Zero2IPO Research.

"The novel coronavirus pandemic disrupted HK's listing plans for quite a lot of mainland enterprises, resulting in a drop in number of enterprises. However, driven by secondary IPOs for internet giants, bio and tech enterprises saw a contrarian rise in financing amounts, even if the total number of IPOs was reduced," a researcher from Zero2IPO Research said.

Since the new regulation was rolled out in the HKEX, nearly 90 mainland enterprises belonging to new economic industries have listed in Hong Kong, with 18 of them being bio and medical companies and large tech companies, said Zhu Yayi from KPMG.

"The new IPO regulations for the HKEX are comparatively clear and flexible, saving enterprises' resources for preparing their IPO, while providing them with a highly qualified stock market. For many tech companies, Hong Kong is still the best choice for an IPO, " said Zhu.

Since the regulation reform in April 2018, the HKEX has attracted unicorns like Meituan and Xiaomi, biotech companies, and internet giants such as Alibaba, JD and NetEase, resulting in the refinement of the market component structure of industries, where companies in traditional industries like financing and real estate are the primary components.

"In the first half of the year, mainland enterprises debuting in HK continued an adjustment trend in the industrial component. The fields of biotech/medical and healthcare, and the internet kept the heat on," said the researcher from Zero2IPO Research. "Both of the financing amounts in the two fields exceeded 10 billion yuan ($1.43 billion), and they accounted for 85.2 percent of the total fundraising volume from mainland IPO enterprises in the first half of the year, up 50 percent year-on-year."

NEW LAW FOR HK SEEN AS BETTER SERVING PROSPERITY

The National Security Law for Hong Kong does not affect any lawful interests of Hong Kong citizens or foreign institutions and personnel in the city, and will serve Hong Kong's prosperity and stability, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said.

The law applies to four categories of criminal behavior that gravely undermine national security, targets only a few people and protects the vast majority, Zhao said at a daily news conference on Tuesday.

Implementation of the law will improve the legal system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, further stabilize the city's social order and enhance its business climate, he said.

Zhao made the remarks when a reporter sought his comment on the reported exit of the short form video app TikTok from Hong Kong.

TikTok decided to leave Hong Kong following the establishment of the National Security Law for the region, Reuters reported.

"We hope relevant parties will view China's legitimate rights to safeguard its own sovereignty and security in a just, objective and reasonable manner," Zhao said, urging them to "be cautious with their words and actions" and "not to politicize" the issue.

Regarding other internet companies' moves to stop processing Hong Kong authorities' requests for user data, Zhao said with the implementation of the National Security Law, the fundamental interests and well-being of Hong Kong residents will be better protected.

US WON'T ALLOW FOREIGN STUDENTS TO STAY IF CLASSES ARE MOVED FULLY ONLINE

International students in US educational institutions will have to leave or will be prohibited from entering the country if their schools move to online-only teaching in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced a new rule on Monday that students on F-1 (academic student) and M-1(vocational or technical student) visas may not remain in the United States if they take a full online-only course load for the fall semester.

The US Department of State will not issue visas to students enrolled in schools that operate under an online-only course model, and US Customs and Border Protection will not permit such students to enter the country, according to an ICE statement.

ICE said students affected by the new policy can transfer to a school with in-person instruction to retain their legal status; otherwise, they will be deemed to be in the US illegally and subject to deportation.

Due to continuing concerns over the pandemic, many colleges and universities, such as Ohio State, will be offering hybrid solutions combining in-person instruction and online teaching for its fall semester.

Oleg Wang, a Chinese student majoring in civil engineering at Ohio State, said: "There's a lot of uncertainty. There's no deadline for departing the country, and it's not clear how they are going to implement the new rule."

After the pandemic broke out and the situation worsened in the US, many Chinese students left for home. Wang decided to remain in the US to avoid the potential difficulty of reentering the country.

Two of his roommates returned to China in March. One of them has decided to take a gap year due to the pandemic, and the other is considering his options.

FLOODING ADDS TO GAOKAO STRESS

As if the stress of preparing for the national college entrance exam, or gaokao, was not enough, flooded roads in parts of eastern China on Tuesday made it impossible for thousands of students to get to their testing sites.

The government of Shexian county in Anhui province said on Tuesday that the downpour, which began before dawn, was the heaviest in 50 years.

A student in the county told China Youth Daily that a bus had been sent to collect some students, but "half of the vehicle's body was underwater and it couldn't move".

Videos from local residents showed many roads in the county blocked by floodwaters. Some students tried to press ahead in boats offered by rescuers.

The county has 2,769 students aiming to take this year's gaokao, but only around 500 had arrived at the examination sites by 10 am, according to Wang Tianping, head of the county's education bureau.

Because a gaokao score can determine what college a student may attend, examinees carry their family's hopes for the future.

The county was forced to cancel the first day's two exams−for Chinese language and mathematics−as most local students failed to reach the two examination sites on time because of flooding.

Large parts of seven provinces and two municipalities along the Yangtze River have had heavy rainfall since July 4, according to the National Meteorological Center.

Rain was heaviest in Hubei province, with more than 600 millimeters. Some areas in neighboring Anhui, Hunan and Guizhou provinces saw between 250 and 480 millimeters of precipitation.

CENTRAL GOV'T OFFICE FOR SAFEGUARDING NATIONAL SECURITY IN HONG KONG INAUGURATED

The Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) was inaugurated on Wednesday morning.

The office was established in accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which was adopted by China's top legislature and promulgated in the HKSAR on June 30.

According to the national security law, the office analyzes and assesses developments related to safeguarding national security in the HKSAR, provides opinions and makes proposals on major strategies and important policies, and oversees, guides, coordinates with and supports the HKSAR in assuming the duties for safeguarding national security.

The office also collects and analyzes intelligence and information about national security and handles cases on offenses endangering national security.

AIRLINE OFFERS ONBOARD HIGH-SPEED INTERNET

China has started operating its first passenger jet that offers high-speed internet service on board, according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, a State-owned space conglomerate.

The aircraft is a modified Airbus A320 and is used by Qingdao Airlines' QW9771 flight from Qingdao, Shandong province to Chengdu, Sichuan province.

Connected with the space giant's communications satellite ChinaSat 16, also known as Shijian 13, the jet conducted the first high-speed-internet flight on Tuesday afternoon, transporting government officials, contractors and representatives from enterprises involved in the program on a three-hour trip to Chengdu, the company said in a statement.

Passengers on the flight were given access to internet service at a speed of about 100 megabits per second, several times faster than other internet-available flights in China and as speedy as fixed-line service.

They were allowed to use their own mobile phones to connect to the internet, and some of them were invited to take part in the first onboard livestreaming broadcast in China, the statement noted.

According to a statement published by Qingdao Airlines, modifications on the aircraft began in November, and the first test flight was made in January. The plane's certifications and tests were conducted from December to June, it said.

ChinaSat 16, the first communications satellite in China using Ka-band broadband technology, was developed by the China Academy of Space Technology based on its DFH-3B communications satellite platform. It has been orbiting the Earth nearly 40,000 kilometers above the ground since it was launched into space atop a Long March 3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province in April 2017.

The spacecraft had been dubbed by space authorities as the country's most advanced communications satellite before the Shijian 20, which was launched into space in December.

Weighing 4.6 metric tons, the satellite is expected to operate in a geostationary orbit for 15 years. It features a Ka-band broadband communications system capable of transmitting 20 gigabits of data per second, exceeding the total capacity of all the country's previous communications satellites.

BEIJING ROLLS OUT MEASURES TO ENSURE JOBS FOR 2020 GRADUATES

Beijing rolled out measures recently in an effort to ensure its graduates' employment target rate is at least 95 percent by the end of the year.

Jointly released by the Beijing Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, Beijing Municipal Education Commission and the Beijing Municipal Finance Bureau, the measures are set to widen employment channels and help college graduates search for suitable jobs in the capital, the Beijing Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau said on Friday.

The measures say that 2020 Beijing graduates can apply for subsidies from social security for at most three years, if they choose to be self-employed when graduating. Small and medium-sized enterprises also can apply for subsidies if they employ Beijing graduates.

Those from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and Taiwan province, and those returning from overseas study also can benefit, enjoying equal opportunities in employment and entrepreneurship services, according the authorities.

FIVE CITIES TO BUILD DISTRIBUTION HUBS FOR CHINA-EUROPE RAILWAYS

China plans to invest 200 million yuan ($28.53 million) to build China-Europe railway distribution hubs in five cities of the country to better use railway sources and reduce costs, according to the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner, on July 6.

The five cities, namely Chengdu, Zhengzhou, Chongqing, Xi'an and Urumqi, are all major cities for China-Europe freight train service or key logistics channels.

The construction of China-Europe railway hubs will break the current separate status of the cities and better serve freight, said Wang Guowen, director of the center for logistics and supply chain management at the Shenzhen-based think tank China Development Institute, according to a 21st Century Business Herald report on Wednesday.

As more cities start to run freight trains between China and Europe, intensive competition has emerged in transportation prices and railway sources, said Wu Jingyu, director of the Asia-Europe land bridge international freight train coordination service center, at the China Communications and Transportation Association.

The construction of transportation hubs will enable cities to share resources, cut costs and improve efficiency.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Collective judgment of new ideas is so often wrong that it is arguable that progress depends on individuals being free to back their own judgment despite collective disapproval. - W.A. Lewis