XI CALLS FOR STRONGER FLOOD MEASURES

President Xi Jinping called on Friday for much stronger measures in flood prevention and rescue work and urged relevant departments to give priority to the safety of people's lives and property.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remark while presiding over a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

Xi stressed that flood prevention and rescue work matter to the safety of people's lives and property, food security, economic security, social stability and State security.

As the nation will secure victory in the building of a moderately prosperous society and shaking off absolute poverty at the end of this year, Xi said it is critically important to do a good job in flood prevention and rescue work.

Since the floods hit southern China in June, relevant local Party committees, government departments as well as the People's Liberation Army and armed troops have coordinated their efforts in flood relief and rescue work, and have achieved positive results, he said.

Xi urged authorities to shoulder their responsibilities for flood prevention and control work, strengthen coordination and synergies in anti-flood efforts, take more effective measures, do solid work in monitoring and early warning, prepare well for contingency plans, materials and human resources for flood prevention and put them in place in advance.

Participants of the meeting underlined the need to intensify coordination between different areas, leverage the strength of professional agencies and build up synergies among various provinces, departments and military and civilian forces, according to a news release issued after the meeting.

Party committees and governments at all levels should take responsibility and go to the frontline to guide flood control work, the news release said.

The meeting also underlined the importance of improving the level of precise early warnings, particularly for heavy rainfall, typhoons, torrential floods and mudslides, and pre-warning information should be released in a timely way to villages, households and individuals, the news release said.

While engaging in flood control and disaster relief efforts, authorities should at the same time carefully plan reconstruction to restore production and help people return to their normal lives as soon as possible, it said.

Serious efforts must be made to assist poor, flood-affected residents so that they do not fall back into poverty because of a disaster, the release said.

The participants also stressed the need to improve the country's disaster prevention capacity, strengthen weaknesses in key infrastructure construction and build up anti-disaster systems and capacity, it added.

Ever since the flood hit areas of southern China, the CPC Central Committee has prioritized flood prevention and rescue work. On May 19, before the floods, while presiding over a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Xi urged relevant departments and local governments to make all-out efforts to protect people's lives and property.

He also gave instructions on flood prevention and relief and rescue work, urging authorities to put people first and make coordinated efforts in antiflood work.

Since June, continuous downpours have lashed large parts of southern China, and the waters of many rivers in affected areas have exceeded warning levels. Some 20.27 million residents have been affected by heavy floods in 24 provincial-level regions across China.

ECONOMY BOUNCING BACK TO GROWTH

Although the pandemic has had a severe impact on China's economy, it did not change its economic fundamentals, according to the country's top economic regulator.

China's economy is bouncing back to growth after a steep slump from the COVID-19 pandemic with better-than-expected indicators in the second quarter, said Yan Pengcheng, director of the Department of National Economy at the National Development and Reform Commission, during a news conference in Beijing on Friday.

"Steady economic recovery in the second quarter proves that China's economy has great resilience to offset external headwinds such as the coronavirus outbreak. The country is able to make structural adjustments, shift the growth model and foster new growth drivers," he said.

Yan said China's economy will continue to recover with the gradual advancement of epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development.

China still faces a number of major economic challenges that could dampen its future growth, such as the continued global spread of the coronavirus and an unfavorable international economic and trade environment, he said.

Despite headwinds, China's GDP grew by 3.2 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, rebounding from the first quarter's contraction, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

Chen Yuyu, an economics professor at Peking University's Guanghua School of Management, said the second quarter's improved indicators signal that China is bouncing back from the downturn.

"The economy will gradually regain its swagger with government measures to continuously prevent and control the epidemic," Chen said in an article posted on the WeChat account of his management school."The epidemic has not affected the pace of China's structural adjustment. Instead, China is moving forward in terms of upgrading its economic structure and renewing economic driving forces, with booming new business in fields like online education, cloud computing and smart manufacturing."

Chen forecast that China's GDP growth could rebound to 5 to 6 percent in the third and fourth quarters, with full-year growth of 2 to 3 percent. "More efforts are needed to spur consumption, boost domestic demand, create more jobs and introduce policies to spark innovation in technologies and business models."

To hedge against the impact of COVID-19, the government has introduced a series of policies to maintain economic and social stability, such as increasing support for hard-hit enterprises. The country has cut taxes and fees by more than 1 trillion yuan ($142.9 billion), the NDRC said.

The NDRC said it approved 54 fixed-asset investment projects in the first half of this year, mainly in transportation, high-tech, energy, agriculture, forestry and water conservancy. The overall investment hit 494.4 billion yuan.

US URGED TO CEASE HOSTILITY TO CHINA

The time is now for the United States government to abandon policies that promote hostility toward China and avert "major power conflict", according to experts and peace activists in the US.

"I want to say with absolute certainty that what we are witnessing right now is a march toward war with China," warned Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, co-founder of the Washington-based Partnership for Civil Justice Fund.

Verheyden-Hilliard said the US government is reorienting its foreign and military policies to prioritize what's referred to as "major power conflict", a phrase she described as "a euphemism for world war", and demonization of China is "part and parcel" of it.

Ken Hammond, professor of East Asian and Global History at New Mexico State University, agreed that the US strategic approach to China is designed to portray China as a force that's adverse to US interests. An example is the current campaign to demonize Chinese students and scholars coming to study and do research in the US, he said.

"We have a rising tide of hate crimes against Asian Americans and Chinese Americans in this country," said Verheyden-Hilliard. "The FBI is carrying out investigations in every state. Chinese students are being targeted, and academics and scientists of Chinese descent are under attack."

She said it's important for the US public to understand that this is a replication of the pattern that played out in that last major power conflict of World War II, when Japanese Americans were demonized, subject to extreme racism and stigmatized as agents of Japan.

Another example of the US campaign is its interference "distorting the realities of life in China, interfering in places like Tibet and Xinjiang, promoting public unrest and dissent in Hong Kong through agencies like the National Endowment for Democracy and imposing its own military standards, including the so-called freedom-of-navigation provocative voyages in the South China Sea," said Hammond.

Julie Tang, retired San Francisco Superior Court judge, said the US Congress currently has 100 bills pending−all targeting China with sanctions for how China governs its people and how it deals with its domestic problems.

"These bills sound morally righteous−based on the premise that America has the duty and moral authority to dictate to China and other countries how to govern their own country," she said.

In the case of the US Congress issuing sanctions against Hong Kong in response to the National Security Law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Tang said there were 2.9 million Hong Kong residents who signed a petition in support of the law.

"These signatures carry the hope of the Hong Kong people that some semblance of peace can be restored to Hong Kong after murder, destruction and rioting by protesters that rained terror over Hong Kong for the entire year of 2019 and continuing," she said.

But Tang said those facts are largely unknown to people in the US because the mainstream media only report negative things about China.

"Americans have never viewed China more negatively. ... This kind of sentiment carries huge implications for a climate ripe for war with China, which should be a great concern for all Americans," she said.

Hammond also stressed that seeing China as an adversary or enemy is not in line with China's actual conduct and behavior in the world.

3 HELD FOR INSECTICIDE USE ON SEA CUCUMBERS

Three people who were suspected of illegally using the insecticide dichlorvos in raising sea cucumbers were brought under control on Friday in Qingdao, Shandong province, after an examination of local sea cucumber production.

In a video clip by China's Central Television program on Thursday night, local farmers in Jimo, a northern district in Qingdao, said the use of dichlorvos is common in sea cucumber cultivation to help kill other creatures in the ponds and improve the living environment for sea cucumbers.

"Two kilograms of dichlorvos were used in approximately one-fifteenth of a hectare of area used for raising sea cucumbers," a farmer said in a secretly recorded interview, adding that his company has more than 100 pools.

China's pesticide regulation excludes the use of dichlorvos in sea cucumber aquaculture.

Dichlorvos is mainly used for pest prevention in the cultivation of cotton, wheat, tea shrubs and apples.

The video also revealed that residual dichlorvos was discharged into the sea without treatment.

In China, sea cucumbers are usually highly prized and are believed to have medicinal properties, treating ailments including arthritis and impotency.

Jimo district is one of the sea cucumber cultivation areas in Shandong and involves more than 100 farms, according to the district government.

The province's department of agricultural and rural affairs has established an investigation team and vowed to crack down on the illegal use of pesticides and veterinary drugs in farming and aquaculture sectors across the province.

The investigation team also decided to sample sea cucumber products to ensure food safety and carry out comprehensive testing on water quality.

The CCTV report also reported the illegal sale of oxytetracycline powder−a broad-spectrum antibiotic that is active against a wide variety of bacteria−whose poisonous content may threaten food safety.

Previously, the authority in Jimo has carried out legal action against the illegal sale of oxytetracycline.

A sea cucumber salesman, who only gave his surname Liu, told China Daily he was shocked to hear about the use of dichlorvos.

Dichlorvos is highly toxic, and he didn't think most sea cucumber producers have the desire to use it, he said.

Chen Bin, 33, who works at a real estate company in Qingdao, said he has bought sea cucumbers as a gift to relatives and friends on major festive occasions such as Spring Festival, because he was told that it would improve people's immune systems.

He said the use of dichlorvos may make consumers become more cautious when purchasing sea cucumber products.

BURGER KING RESTAURANTS PROBED FOR SAFETY ISSUES

Six Burger King restaurants in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, had operations suspended and were placed under probe for suspected safety violations such as using expired food materials, the city's market regulator said on Friday.

Following a report by China Central Television on Thursday night that accused the restaurants in Nanchang of illegal activities including using expired bread and chicken, the fast food chain has apologized, saying it will cooperate with the investigation and handle the case seriously.

Nanchang's market regulation administration has organized site inspections of the restaurants, focusing on food materials, labels and food processing and storage conditions.

By Thursday night, the administration had seized 85 kilograms of problematic food, it said, adding further investigation is underway.

The administration will conduct inspections on other Western-style fast food restaurants in the city to eliminate safety risks, it said.

In Shanghai, the municipal market regulation administration also launched a probe into Burger King restaurants on Thursday night covering all outlets in the city with a focus on records of food purchases and expiry dates.

The inspection on Thursday night did not find any illegal practices. The authorities required all the outlets to strictly follow related laws and regulations to dump expired food materials.

Following another problem exposed in the CCTV report, the administration also required local e-commerce platforms to see if there are any substandard towels made with recycled materials including used socks or underwear. Towels failing to meet quality standards should be pulled off the platforms immediately, it said.

SECOND ROUND OF FLOODS TEST THREE GORGES DAM

Following continuous downpours in the upper reach of the Yangtze River, the Three Gorges Dam is being tested by the second floods this year in the Asia's longest watercourse, water resources authorities said.

The second flooding of the Yangtze could be stronger than the first one earlier this month, according to the Changjiang Water Resources Commission.

At 10 am on Friday, the Three Gorges Dam again began flooding with a flow rate of 50,000 cubic meters per second. The rate is forecast to reach 55,000 cubic meters per second at 8 pm on Friday, the Yangtze management authority said.

The first flood this year arrived at the dam on July 2 with a peak flow rate of 53,000 cubic meters.

TIGER LEAPING GORGE A ROARING SIGHT AFTER RAIN

After heavy rainfall in recent days in Shangri-La, Yunnan province, the volume of water in Hutiaoxia (Tiger Leaping Gorge) has risen significantly, creating a spectacular sight for tourists.

The gorge is located on the upper reaches of the Jinsha River in Yunnan. At around 3,900 meters deep between Jade Dragon and the Haba Snow Mountains, it's one of the deepest gorges in the world.

The tourist season has now begun at the gorge in Shangri-La. It will last until early September.

REGULATION TO ENSURE TIMELY PAYMENTS TO SMES

The new regulation on ensuring timely payments to small and medium-sized enterprises, which will go into effect on Sept 1, will safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of SMEs, reduce their operational costs and optimize the business environment, the nation's top industry regulator said on Friday.

Noting SMEs play a crucial role in expanding employment and improving people's livelihood, Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Wang Jiangping said the regulation will ensure government departments, public institutions and large enterprises pay SMEs on time and will invigorate the liquidity of SMEs.

A mechanism will be established for the disclosure of information regarding overdue payments to SMEs within the prescribed time limit, Wang added. Moreover, the system of complaint handling, punishment for acts of bad faith, as well as supervision and evaluation will be set up to protect the legitimate rights of SMEs.

The State Council on Tuesday released a regulation on ensuring timely payments to SMEs, according to a decree of the State Council signed by Premier Li Keqiang.

The regulation standardizes contract signing between the aforementioned departments and SMEs, requiring them to pay for goods, projects and services from SMEs on time. It also prohibits them from extending the payment period.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past. - Patrick Henry