ALERT RAISED IN NORTH AS FLOODING CONTINUES IN SOUTH

Authorities have warned of the possibility of major floods in China's northern areas as inundations continue to cause serious damage in many parts of the southern half of the country, especially along the Yangtze River's middle and lower reaches.

Since June, high-water alerts have been triggered along 433 rain-swollen rivers. Only 11 are in the Yellow River Basin in the north, while all others are in southern areas, said Ye Jianchun, vice-minister of water resources, at a news conference organized by the State Council Information Office in Beijing on Monday.

While high water levels linger in the Yangtze and Taihu Lake, more rain than normal is expected in some northern areas as the region prepares to enter its rainy season, usually from late July to early August, he said.

Major floods may occur in the Songhua, Liaohe, Haihe and Huaihe river basins and the middle reaches of the Yellow River, Ye added.

"There has been no flooding in these river basins for years. People are not very knowledgeable about flood control there, and local flood control capabilities are comparatively weak," Ye said.

The ministry will guide northern regions in rolling out precautionary measures as it continues to contribute to efforts in the south, he said.

"The current flood control situation in Yangtze and Taihu remains grim," he said.

Most of the Yangtze's middle and lower reaches have seen water swell above their warning levels. Meanwhile, the water level in Taihu Lake in the lower Yangtze area is forecast to keep rising and may exceed 4.65 meters, the maximum level that its dikes are designed to hold, Ye said.

On Monday, however, southern areas had a rare rain-free day, according to the National Meteorological Center. Before that, the center had issued new alerts for torrential rains for 40 consecutive days starting June 2. Rain will return to the region, however, from Tuesday to Thursday.

At 8 am on Monday, the level of Poyang Lake, China's largest freshwater lake, reached 22.6 meters. On Sunday, it had surpassed its historic high of 22.52 meters, recorded during the devastating floods of 1998, Jiangxi provincial authorities said. The lake is connected to the Yangtze River water system.

"Though some hydrological stations in Poyang reported higher water levels compared with records in 1998, water levels in major hydrological stations in middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze are currently below those of that year," Ye said.

Vice-Minister of Emergency Management Zheng Guoguang said that even though rainfall in the Yangtze Basin has been 51 percent above normal this year, "the likelihood is not great" that the type of prolonged, concentrated precipitation that happened in 1998 will occur.

Also, with construction of more water conservancy projects and an improved system to handle floodwaters, "we have had much stronger flood control capability", he said.

CHINA TO US: STOP DISRUPTING SEA REGION

China firmly opposed the US Department of State's statement on the South China Sea and urged Washington to stop its attempts to disrupt and sabotage regional peace and stability, a spokesperson of the Chinese embassy in Washington said Monday.

In a statement issued Monday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US is making clear "Beijing's claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful".

The US statement disregards the efforts of China and ASEAN countries — the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — for peace and stability in the South China Sea, deliberately distorts the facts and international law including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), exaggerates the situation in the region and attempts to sow discord between China and other littoral countries, the Chinese embassy said in a release.

"The accusation is completely unjustified. The Chinese side is firmly opposed to it," the embassy spokesperson said.

China's position on the South China Sea issue has been consistent and clear-cut.

While firmly safeguarding its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, China has been committed to resolving disputes through negotiation and consultation with countries directly involved, managing differences through rules and mechanisms and achieving win-win results through mutually beneficial cooperation, the spokesperson said.

The situation of the South China Sea has remained peaceful and stable and is still improving, according to an embassy press release.

China and other littoral countries have maintained dialogue and communication through consultation mechanisms on maritime affairs and worked to promote cooperation over the South China Sea, it said.

Within the framework of fully and effectively implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, China and the ASEAN countries are advancing the consultation on a code of conduct in the South China Sea and are making visible progress, it added.

The US is not a country directly involved in the disputes, but it has kept interfering in the issue, and under the pretext of preserving stability, it is flexing its muscles, stirring up tension and inciting confrontation in the region, according to the spokesperson.

"We urge the US side to earnestly honor its commitment of not taking sides on the issue of territorial sovereignty, respect regional countries' efforts for a peaceful and stable South China Sea and stop its attempts to disrupt and sabotage regional peace and stability," said the spokesperson.

CHINA'S FOREIGN TRADE DOWN 3.2% IN H1

China's foreign trade decreased 3.2 percent year-on-year to 14.24 trillion yuan in the first six months, narrowing by 1.7 percentage points compared with the decrease for the first five months, said the General Administration of Customs on Tuesday.

China saw its foreign trade rise 5.1 percent year-on-year in June, with exports and imports up 4.3 percent and 6.2 percent respectively.

The foreign trade volume of private enterprises rose 4.9 percent to 6.42 trillion yuan in H1, accounting for 45.1 percent of the total.

ASEAN became China's largest trading partner. Trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations stood at 2.09 trillion yuan during the first half of 2020, an increase of 5.6 percent year-on-year and accounting for 14.7 percent of total foreign trade value.

China's export of epidemic prevention and control supplies surged sharply in the first half of the year. China's textile exports, including masks, rose 32.4 percent year-on-year. In the same period, exports of medical materials and medicines increased 23.6 percent and those of medical equipment and devices 46.4 percent.

China has kept its promise and implemented the "phase one" trade deal signed between China and the US during the epidemic, Li Kuiwen, spokesman for the General Administration of Customs, said at a news conference.

In the first six months, foreign trade between China and the United States totaled 1.64 trillion yuan, down 6.6 percent year-on-year. Exports decreased 8.1 percent to 1.25 trillion yuan, while imports fell 1.5 percent to 395.62 trillion yuan.

SANCTIONS IMPOSED ON US ENTITY, OFFICIALS OVER XINJIANG-RELATED ISSUES

China announced on Monday reciprocal sanctions against a United States entity and four US officials who have acted viciously on Xinjiang-related issues in response to moves made earlier by the US.

The corresponding sanctions target the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, Representative Chris Smith and US State Department Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily news briefing.

The commission "monitors human rights and the development of the rule of law in China and submits an annual report to US President and Congress", according to its website.

The sanctions, which were not specified, were announced days after the US imposed visa bans and asset freezes on one Chinese government entity and four officials in connection with "serious rights abuses" supposedly enacted against ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

The US actions seriously interfere in China's internal affairs, violate the basic norms of international relations and damage China-US relations, Hua said.

"We urge the US to immediately withdraw its wrong decision and stop words and actions that interfere in China's internal affairs and harm China's interests," she said.

China may have a further response depending on the development of the situation, she added.

Hua also urged the US to stop restrictions and suppression of normal people-to-people exchanges between the two countries to avoid harming bilateral ties.

The US embassy and consulates in China issued a security alert on Saturday asking its citizens to exercise increased caution in China due to "arbitrary enforcement of local laws for purposes other than maintaining law and order".

China encourages and supports normal exchanges and cooperation with foreign countries, Hua said, adding that there is no need for foreign citizens in the country to worry or fear as long as they abide by Chinese laws and regulations. China is trying to provide all conveniences for foreign citizens in China, she added.

In another development, Hua confirmed on Monday that two World Health Organization experts have arrived in China for science-based cooperation on researching the origin of the COVID-19 virus.

It is also the view of the WHO that origin-tracing is an ongoing process probably concerning many countries and localities, and the WHO will conduct similar trips to other countries and regions in light of the actual need, she said.

CALL FOR UNIFORM TREATMENT OF PEOPLE IRRESPECTIVE OF UNIFORM

Luxury items shopping mall SKP Beijing was recently in the news for its supposedly discriminatory policy against a food delivery worker.

On Saturday, Caodao, an internet influencer, posted a short video on Weibo showing security staff at the mall prohibiting her from entering the premises because she was wearing a food delivery worker's uniform. The video immediately went viral, with many commenting that the mall had no business prohibiting food delivery workers from entering it.

SKP Beijing used its official Weibo account to respond to the controversy a day later, saying the mall had separate entrances for customers and working personnel, and the mall's regulation demands that food delivery workers use the entrance meant for working personnel. It even said that following the novel coronavirus outbreak, the mall recently changed its policy, asking restaurants on its premises to ferry take-away food to a designated spot from where delivery workers can pick it up.

But Caodao would not accept the mall's explanation, as the security personnel had clearly told the food delivery worker she could not enter the mall wearing a delivery worker's uniform, unless she wore a coat to cover the uniform.

She also expressed her anger in an interview on social media, saying the treatment meted out by SKP Beijing amounted to professional discrimination, as it deprives delivery workers of the right to enter a public space.

Following the novel coronavirus outbreak, many public spaces and communities have tightened regulation for epidemic prevention and control. But epidemic prevention and control should not be an excuse for denying food delivery workers entry into a mall, or for a mall to deny entry to people wearing a uniform. The mall should abide by a promise it made in its statement on Weibo, to open its gates to all customers, irrespective of whether they wear a uniform or not.

CHINESE ENTERPRISES RAMP UP DIGITAL PROCUREMENT

Chinese enterprises' spending on digitalization services and products is expected to exceed 1 trillion yuan ($142.9 billion) for the first time this year, as companies accelerate digital transformation while battling COVID-19, a new report said.

The figure will mark a significant jump from the data in 2019, said a joint report from two government think tanks the China Center for Information Industry Development and the China International Electronic Commerce Center.

Last year, the market-size of enterprises' digital procurement was 590 billion yuan, up 64 percent on a yearly basis, the report said.

With the rapid development of new technologies such as big data, cloud computing, the internet of things, blockchain and artificial intelligence, the digital economy era is accelerating and enterprise procurement is shifting from pure online purchases to systematic, full-chain procurement management and services, the report said.

Li Mingtao, head of the research institute at the China International Electronic Commerce Center, said: "The epidemic will trigger the reflection and adjustment of the supply chain system's anti-risk capabilities in various industries around the world. The digital supply chain system, driven by digital procurement, will become more efficient, diverse and resilient.

"The next stage of the intelligent supply chain can enable seamless connections between supply and demand, and force upstream enterprises in the industry chain to accelerate digital transformation. It will promote traditional industries to engage in digital collaboration on research and development, production, sales, procurement and distribution. The industrial digital era is coming," Li said.

According to him, the central government's emphasis on new infrastructure including 5G and data centers, and the construction of other major national projects will motivate companies to accelerate digital transformation.

The increase in Chinese enterprises' digital procurement spending this year will be higher than that of last year, the report said.

The trend also dovetails with China's push to accelerate the integrated development of next-generation information technology and manufacturing, in a bid to foster high-quality development.

A new guideline dubbed the integrated development of the next-generation information technology and the manufacturing industry was approved earlier this month during the 14th meeting of the Central Committee for Deepening Overall Reform.

SHANGHAI SOCIAL SERVICES SYSTEM IN THE GLOBAL SPOTLIGHT

A survey published by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs on Friday highlighted the one-stop approach offered by an integrated offline-online system in Shanghai as an exemplary case of how institutional mechanisms can be supported to enhance government data exchange and public service.

The survey, which serves as a benchmarking and development tool for countries to learn from each other, is based on an assessment of digital services in 193 United Nations member states.

As a part of the report this year, information on the Shanghai Municipal Big Data Center, which was established in 2018, and its functions as a one-stop service platform was included.

The system enables both online and offline information to be shared across different levels in the city and allows registered users to complete all tasks and processes in a single visit.

According to the survey, more than 13 million users have registered on the system's portal. Over 200 physical government service centers staffed by more than 20,000 employees are also available to help residents with offline service requests.

The survey shows that offline service centers in Shanghai received 36.45 million visitors in the first half of 2019.

WATER LEVEL OF YANGTZE RIVER IN HANKOU OF WUHAN DECLINES

Water level at Hankou hydrologic station in Central China, a crucial point of the Yangtze River, dropped Monday, as the flood peak passed through the section, according to the Bureau of Hydrology of the Changjiang Water Resources Commission.

Statistics provided by the bureau showed that the Hankou station in Hubei province registered a water level of 28.74 meters at 5:00 pm Monday, lower than the peak of 28.77 measured at 11:00 pm Sunday.

The peak level this time ranked fourth in history since 1865, after the levels in 1954, 1998, and 1999, according to the bureau.

A previous forecast showed the level would peak at around 29 meters on Tuesday, with the change taking place mainly due to storage adjustments by reservoirs in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, according to Feng Baofei, an engineer with the bureau.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Pain divides the champion from all others. What most people lack is having the guts to go on through the pain no matter what happens. - Arnold Schwarzenegger