XI DECLARES START OF BEIDOU'S FULL-SCALE GLOBAL SERVICE

President Xi Jinping announced on Friday morning that China's Beidou Navigation Satellite System has been completed and started providing full-scale global services on the day.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, declared the completion of the global navigation and positioning system's third-generation network at a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

This is a new milestone in China's space industry and also a major achievement in the country's efforts to boost science, technology and innovation, experts have said.

Beidou is the country's largest space-based system and one of four global navigation networks, along with the United States' GPS, Russia's GLONASS and the European Union's Galileo.

More than 300,000 scientists, engineers and technicians from more than 400 domestic institutes, universities and enterprises have been involved in Beidou's development and construction. Dozens of distinguished scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering have taken part in the program, project leaders said.

In late June, the final satellite to complete Beidou's third-generation network was lifted by a Long March 3B carrier rocket at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province and was placed into a geostationary orbit about 36,000 kilometers above the Earth.

After in-orbit tests over the past month, the satellite, the 59th in the Beidou family and 30th in the third-generation series, has recently started its formal operations, according to the China Satellite Navigation Office.

Since 2000, a total of 59 Beidou satellites, including the first four experimental ones, have been launched from Xichang on 44 Long March 3-series rockets, with some of them having retired.

Beidou began providing positioning, navigation, timing and messaging services to civilian users in China and other parts of the Asia-Pacific in December 2012. At the end of 2018, it started offering basic global services.

Now, there are 30 third-generation Beidou satellites in three types of orbit — 24 in medium-Earth orbits, three in inclined geosynchronous satellite orbits and three in geostationary orbits.

There also are some second-generation Beidou satellites in operation offering regional services, said the China Satellite Navigation Office.

NEW EPIDEMIC CONTROL PRECAUTIONS ANNOUNCED FOR PRODUCE MARKETS

Large agricultural markets in China, especially those selling frozen meat and seafood or containing damp environments, will be subject to regular tests for novel coronavirus as several COVID-19 outbreaks in China are believed to be tied to markets selling or processing seafood.

Major food markets — those providing fresh or frozen products in particular — will be tested once a week, while other markets will be tested once a month according to a technical guideline released by the State Council's Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism on Thursday.

Testing samples will be taken from surfaces of stalls, refrigerators and tools. Throat swab samples of vendors in the market, as well as samples collected from their clothing and hands, will also be tested.

Tests will also cover livestock, poultry and seafood products, as well as wastewater in the market's sewage system.

Objects and surfaces in public areas that see frequent use by workers or vehicles, such as doorknobs, toilets, tractors and garbage bins, as well as aerosol samples in offices with poor ventilation, will also be tested for the virus.

All samples and files recording the sample collection process must be delivered to designated testing facilities within 24 hours. Laboratory work will be conducted in P2-level biosafety laboratories — the third-highest level in a four-tier system — but technicians should take personal protective measures according to the standards of P3-level laboratories.

Enhanced monitoring of agricultural markets was rolled out after rising speculation that cool and damp environments may raise the risk of the virus's spread.

Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said recent outbreaks in Beijing and Dalian in Liaoning province were both associated with seafood products. The epidemic that first emerged in Wuhan, Hubei province was also tied to a local seafood market.

"Such damp and cool environments are suitable to the survival of the virus, and it is not easy to eliminate the virus in these environments, thus causing risks of transmission," he said. "So areas handling seafood products should take extra precautions."

BIG TECH TRIO: NO SIGNS CHINA STOLE TECHNOLOGY

The testimony Wednesday was telling at a time when Chinese companies are facing national security accusations by the US on numerous fronts, from telecom giant Huawei to popular social media video app TikTok.

Apple CEO Tim Cook, Alphabet (parent company of Google) CEO Sundar Pichai, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg were asked during a House Judiciary subcommittee investigating the practices of major US technology companies whether they believed the Chinese government was stealing intellectual property from American companies.

"I know of no case of ours where it occurred," Cook replied to the question posed by Representative Greg Steube, a Florida Republican. "I can only speak to firsthand knowledge."

During Cook's opening statement, he called iPhone maker Apple "a uniquely American company". But he also praised Shenzhen-based Huawei, which the US has repeatedly worked to portray as a national security threat and has coaxed some of its allies not to use the gear of the company, a leader in 5G (fifth-generation) mobile wireless technology.

"We also know that customers have a lot of choices and that our products face fierce competition," Cook said. "Companies like Samsung, LG, Huawei and Google have built successful businesses with different approaches. We're OK with that. Our goal is the best, not the most."

"I have no firsthand knowledge of any information stolen from Google," said Pichar of the company that runs the world's most widely used search engine.

Bezos, the world's richest person who runs an omnipresent e-commerce company, mulled the question out loud before answering that it was something, "I've read reports of, but don't have personal experience."

Republican Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida asked whether all the companies embraced American values, and they said they did.

Gaetz also asked about Google's artificial intelligence center in China and about the company's relationships with Chinese universities.

"Why would an American company with American values so directly aid the Chinese military but have ethical concerns about working with the US military?" Gaetz asked.

Pichai replied: "We are not working with the Chinese military. It's absolutely false. We have clarified what we're doing in China compared to our peers — it is very, very limited in nature. Our AI work in China is limited to a handful of people working on open-source projects."

Zuckerberg said the allegations of technology theft were "well documented", but didn't provide any specific examples.

He said the fastest-growing app in the world is TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company Byte Dance.

"History shows that if we don't keep innovating, someone will replace every company here today. If you look at where the top technology companies come from, a decade ago, the vast majority were American. Today, almost half are Chinese."

FIVE YEARS ON FROM BEIJING 2022 BID, GAMES ALREADY LEAVING LEGACY

Five years have passed since Beijing's successful bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympiad, and already, the upcoming Games are leaving a legacy, both for the host country and for the wider Olympic movement.

Some Olympic Games come and go as quickly as they arrived, while some stick around in the memories of sports fans for generations. Los Angeles 1984, London 2012 and, of course, Beijing 2008 are all the Olympic Games that immediately spring to mind when anyone mentions the Olympic legacy.

The 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics was perhaps the most iconic games of the modern era. This edition of the Games was like nothing the world had seen before or since. With stunning venues and stadiums, memorable moments, as well as a whole generation of Chinese children inspired to take up sports, Beijing 2008 remains a significant part of recent Olympic legacy.

But with the 2022 Games under two years away, organizers are not content with just replicating the success of the 2008 Games; they want to leave a lasting legacy.

From creating a whole generation of winter sports enthusiasts to building an environmentally sustainable Games, the organizers gave themselves a real challenge, one that they are meeting head on as the Games approach.

In the face of significant challenges and obstacles, such as the global COVID-19 pandemic, China has pushed ahead with the Olympic preparations.

Hosting an Olympic Games comes with costs attached. But the cost of hosting an Olympic Games is more than just monetary. Environmental costs have become an equally important part of hosting an Olympics in the modern age.

For Beijing 2022, a crucial part of the Games has been the recycling and reuse of Beijing 2008 venues.

The iconic 'water cube' swimming venue from 2008 has now become the 'ice cube,' a premier curling venue.

In Shougang, a crucial part of the Beijing competition zone for the Games, world-class facilities have been built from the disused steel that used to exist on the site. From one of the biggest steel factories in the world to a mecca for winter sports. From the two high-tech rinks that will host ice hockey and ice skating, to the world's first-ever permanent big-air jump that hosted its first-ever top-level event back in December.

Even the ice that the athletes will compete on has been considered. The games will be the first to harness the waste gas carbon dioxide to create the ice surfaces.

In addition, during the venue construction in the Yanqing competition zone, protecting species diversity on the 2,000 meter-high mountain was a top priority. All trees within the zone were registered and had their profiles marked with a QR code. Temporary migration paths were also built for local animals.

"Beijing 2022 puts sustainability high on its agenda and regards it as an indispensable element of staging a 'green, inclusive, open and clean' Games and implementing reforms introduced in the Olympic Agenda 2020," said Zhang Jiandong, Executive Vice President of Beijing 2022.

HOMESTAY INDUSTRY REVIVES ISLAND'S ECONOMY IN EAST CHINA

Nanji Island, a popular tourist destination in Wenzhou city of Zhejiang province, boasts a booming homestay industry that has greatly revived the local economy.

With over 50 homestays on the island, Nanji county developed a variety of themed guesthouses, such as cabins, tents and cliff hotels.

As of 2019, the island's tourism-related revenue, including income from catering, accommodation and retail sales, amounted to more than 100 million yuan, which has provided a big stimulus to the local economy.

TAX DEDUCTION POLICIES BENEFIT FOREIGN TRADE COMPANIES

China's foreign trade enterprises have been boosted by a series of tax deduction policies, ensuring the smooth operation of the foreign trade industry supply chain, Sina Finance reported on Friday.

China's foreign trade exports have maintained year-on-year positive growth for three consecutive months since April this year, thanks to preferential policies including raising export tax rebate rates and supporting the transfer of exports to domestic sales.

Data from the State Taxation Administration showed 812.8 billion yuan ($116.29 billion) of export tax rebates and exemptions had been granted in the first half of this year, helping companies revitalize the capital and expand the market against downward trend.

The country has reduced the operating cost for foreign trade enterprises this year by increasing the export tax rebate rate of some products to boost export confidence and enhance international competitiveness of export products, Cui Zhijuan, professor at Beijing National Accounting Institute, told Securities Daily.

Sichuan Shuncheng Silk Co Ltd, a foreign trade enterprise specializing in the export of silk products mainly to South Asia and the Middle East with an annual export of about $10 million, was heavily impacted by the pandemic this year.

However, thanks to the preferential taxation policies, the company resumed production smoothly.

In the first half of this year, the paperless declaration and precision services have helped the company get a tax rebate of 4.56 million yuan for exports, up 12.9 percent year-on-year, Liu Bing, in charge of finance in Sichuan Shuncheng Silk Co Ltd, said.

This has greatly reduced the burden of the company, boosted enterprise's confidence in resuming production, and enhanced its ability to resist risks, Liu said.

The company has successively received more foreign trade orders since March this year, with foreign trade exports volume reaching more than $1 million, driving development of upstream and downstream industries in surrounding areas.

Meanwhile, the operation of the enterprise at full capacity has also promoted the stable employment of more than 200 local staff members.

China's foreign export enterprises have more confidence for development with the full support of the taxation department and the company plans to explore overseas market with diversified products and make more Chinese products go global, Zhao Yanhui, general manager of Sichuan Shuncheng Silk Co Ltd, said.

Non-physical contact tax handling method is safe and efficient which could help enterprises speed up capital circulation.

About 300,000 companies in China have refunded or exempted 629.6 billion yuan of export tax rebates through contactless methods since they were introduced on Feb 10, as per statistics from State Taxation Administration.

China's exports and imports of goods trade in June witnessed positive growth for the first time this year, and the positive effects of stabilizing foreign trade policies have continued to appear, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on July 14.

CUI: CHINA-US RELATIONSHIP NEEDS A 'RESET'

The China-US relationship can have a future only if it is built on dialogue and cooperation, and the two countries should be partners, not imaginary enemies, Beijing's top envoy in Washington said Thursday.

"If there is a side to choose, then all countries, China and the US included, should choose the right side of history," wrote Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai in an op-ed piece for politico.com.

This will require countries to improve their own domestic governance while working "outside their borders to build a world with lasting peace, common security and shared prosperity", as the world needs "strong solidarity, not growing division", Cui noted.

The article follows the latest escalation in the already tumultuous bilateral relationship, in which the US State Department's abrupt order July 21 to shut the Chinese consulate in Houston prompted Beijing to order the shuttering of the US consulate in Chengdu in Southwest China on Monday.

In the article, titled "China and the US Should Reset Their Relationship", Cui highlighted the positive history between the two countries.

It was at a Texas rodeo in Simonton, near Houston, in early 1979, soon after the two countries established diplomatic relations, that Deng Xiaoping, then vice-premier of China, was pictured donning a cowboy hat, which had become a lasting symbol of China-US friendship.

It was during that visit that the two countries signed an agreement to open consulates in each other's country, Cui wrote. Houston was where China set up its first consulate in the US to serve a consular district that covered eight states in the South and Puerto Rico.

Cui cited a Houston Chronicle editorial stating that China is the region's second-largest trading partner. According to statistics from the consulate, trade in that part of America reached $125.1 billion in 2018, and nearly 300 China-invested companies had established their presence there by 2019, with a combined investment topping $23.2 billion.

Half a globe away, Chinese basketball fans regard the NBA's Houston Rockets almost as their home team because of Yao Ming, and beefsteaks from Texas have become a favorite on the table in many Chinese households, according to Cui.

"These benefits wouldn't have been possible without the atmosphere of amity and cooperation the Consulate-General helped to foster," Cui wrote.

The shutting of the Houston consulate was an "unusual break in international diplomacy" that shocked many people inside and outside China, the ambassador noted.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. - Abraham Lincoln