NATION HONORS UN, MULTILATERALISM PLEDGE

When President Xi Jinping attended the high-level meetings for the 70th anniversary of the United Nations in New York in 2015, he called on the international community to remain committed to multilateralism and mutually beneficial cooperation for a better world.

Five years on, as the intergovernmental body marks its 75th anniversary in a time of great worldwide upheaval compounded by growing unilateralism and the COVID-19 pandemic, Xi's vision on upholding the international system with the UN at its center and rejecting unilateralism and the winner-takes-all mindset has become more relevant than ever before.

Xi will participate in a series of high-level meetings for the UN's 75th anniversary via video link starting this week. Among them are a meeting commemorating the 75th anniversary of the UN and the general debate of the 75th Session of the UN General Assembly.

The past five years have witnessed dramatic changes in the international landscape featuring a battle between multilateralism and unilateralism as well as between cooperation and confrontation, observers said.

The United States administration's "America first" policy has undermined the international order established since World War II, while the different ways that countries respond to the unprecedented public health crisis have further widened the global divide, they said.

Zhou Fangyin, president of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies' School of International Relations, said that China would use the multilateral meetings to reaffirm its strong position in support of multilateralism and the fundamental role of multilateral institutions, including the UN and the World Trade Organization, in exercising global governance and upholding the international order.

Given the mounting tensions between Beijing and Washington, Zhou said China is likely to illustrate its policies and initiatives on dealing with relations between major countries to promote strategic stability in Sino-US relations, and ultimately avert the negative effects of increased strategic competition between the world's two largest economies on the international community.

While continuing to strengthen solidarity and international cooperation in fighting the unprecedented global public health crisis, Zhou said China would also reaffirm its commitment to extensive opening-up and stabilizing the industrial and supply chains in order to boost global confidence in recovering from the deep economic recession.

Since 2017, the US has been withdrawing from international treaties such as the landmark Paris climate agreement and the Iran nuclear deal, and international organizations such as UNESCO, the UN Human Rights Council and the World Health Organization. In stark contrast with the US, China strongly supports the UN, which has multilateralism as the core value of its charter.

China has contributed $1.3 billion, the full amount of its financial obligations for the UN regular and peacekeeping budgets for this year. Following the start of the pandemic, China donated $50 million to the WHO to help it coordinate global efforts in combating the virus.

GOVT TO ESTABLISH THREE NEW PILOT FTZS

China released plans for three new pilot free trade zones in Beijing, Hunan and Anhui on Monday to further facilitate its high-level opening-up and boost high-quality growth through deeper reforms, according to the State Council.

Moreover, the government has also decided to expand China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

According to the plan, Beijing FTZ will cover an area of 119.68 square kilometers, including three areas for science and technology innovation, international business services and high-end industries.

The government will also support the People's Bank of China, or the central bank, to set up a fintech center within the capital city, building pilot zones for digital currencies and digital finance systems with blockchain technology.

The pilot free trade zone in Hunan and Anhui will cover areas of 119.76 square kilometers, 119.86 square kilometers, respectively, said the government document.

Hunan FTZ aims to boost outbound direct investment and international cooperation, in particular with African nations and economies related to the Belt and Road Initiative.

Located in the Yangtze River Delta region, Anhui FTZ is set to boost the region's development and high-end manufacturing, integrated circuit, artificial intelligence and cross-border e-commerce business.

CHINA'S MARS PROBE CONTINUES TRIP TO RED PLANET

China's Tianwen 1 Mars probe carried out its second mid-course correction maneuver on Sunday night, according to the China National Space Administration.

The robotic spacecraft ran its four 120-Newton thrusters for 20 seconds around 11 pm after receiving control signals from its ground controllers, the administration said in a statement on Monday morning.

By Monday morning, Tianwen 1 had travelled 160 million kilometers in an Earth-Mars transfer trajectory toward the red planet and was nearly 19 million km away from the Earth.

The administration added the spacecraft was in good condition.

China launched Tianwen 1, the country's first independent Mars mission, on July 23 at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province, opening the nation's planetary exploration program.

On July 27, the probe sent back a picture of Earth and the moon, which was taken by its optical navigation sensor when it was about 1.2 million km away from Earth at the time. The picture is the first image from the spacecraft that has been made public.

It made its first mid-course correction on Aug 2 when it was about 3 million km away from the Earth.

If everything goes according to schedule, the 5-metric ton Tianwen 1, which consists of an orbiter and landing capsule, will travel more than 470 million km before getting captured by Mars' gravitational field in February.

The mission's ultimate goal is to soft-land a rover around May 2021 on the southern part of Mars' Utopia Planitia — a large plain within Utopia, the largest recognized impact basin on Mars and in the solar system — to make scientific surveys.

FLU VACCINE SAVES HEALTHCARE RESOURCES AMID COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Experts said people should get flu vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic period to prevent extra burdens on healthcare resources.

According to the latest technical guideline on flu vaccination issued by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the public is suggested to take flu vaccines in a timely manner, which is the most effective and economic way to prevent influenza.

Flu patients have similar symptoms to COVID-19 cases, such as fever and cough, and a hike in the number of flu patients is expected in autumn and winter, according to the guideline.

The development will overlap with the country's COVID-19 control efforts, making it more difficult for health workers to identify COVID-19 cases and increasing isolation difficulties and healthcare burdens, said Feng Zijian, deputy head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Wu Guizhen, chief biosafety expert at China CDC, said taking the flu vaccine could protect against flu and prevent symptoms such as fever, thus reducing burdens on healthcare facilities.

Wu said the flu vaccine and COVID-19 vaccine could be used at the same time.

According to the CDC guideline on flu vaccination, inactivated flu vaccine and other inactivated vaccines can be used at the same time on different parts of the body. But a person who has taken an attenuated live flu vaccine can only be inoculated with other attenuated live vaccines at least 28 days after the vaccination.

Some key populations should be the first to take flu vaccines, according to the guideline.

They include health professionals, staff and vulnerable individuals in venues with gatherings of people, such as elderly care centers, nursing and welfare homes.

Other key populations include teachers and students in nurseries, primary and secondary schools; prison inmates and workers; citizens aged 60 and above who stay in their homes; patients with chronic diseases and pregnant women.

CONSTRUCTION OF HAINAN HIGHWAY LOOP GETS GREEN LIGHT

A scenic highway circling the island province of Hainan has been formally approved for construction, according to the provincial transport department, xinhuanet.com reported.

The main route of the highway will stretch 997.9 kilometers and the spur route 442.7 km. The construction of the project, with an estimated investment of 16.7 billion yuan ($2.47 billion), is expected to accelerate building Hainan into an international tourism and consumption center.

The funding for construction will come from various sources, including self-financing from enterprises, government support, social capital and market financing.

Linking 12 coastal cities and counties as well as the Yangpu Economic Development Zone in Hainan, the highway loop will pass by bays, headlands, characteristic towns, tourist attractions and seaside resorts.

The scenic highway is an important infrastructure project for the creation and development of the Hainan free trade port, said an official from the provincial transport department. Its construction can help explore and innovate the operation model of tourism highways. The province aims to build areas along the highway into new bright spots in Hainan's tourism product offerings, the official said.

CHINA LAUNCHES NEW SATELLITE TO MONITOR OCEAN ENVIRONMENT

China on Monday sent a new ocean-monitoring satellite into orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China.

A Long March 4B rocket carrying the Haiyang-2C (HY-2C) satellite took off at 1:40 pm (Beijing Time), according to the launch center.

The country's third ocean dynamic environment satellite, the HY-2C, will form a network with the previous HY-2B and subsequent HY-2D to carry out high-precision maritime environment monitoring.

Monday's launch was the 347th by the Long March rocket series.

SUSPECT DETAINED AFTER STABBING INCIDENT NEAR SCHOOL

A man was detained after he allegedly stabbed six people in Zhongcun street of Panyu district in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, on Monday morning.

The wounded included a woman, four primary school pupils and a kindergarten kid, local media reported. Two people were seriously injured in the attack.

Two primary pupils, carrying schoolbags, were found lying on the ground bleeding when police and medical workers arrived at the scene.

According to a statement released by Panyu district bureau of public security on Monday, the accident took place near a kindergarten and a school on Junxing road in Zhongcun street at about 7:30 am when the suspect attacked the victims with a knife.

The suspect who was also injured was quickly restrained and the wounded were rushed to Panyu District No 5 People's Hospital by two ambulances.

Local police and medical staff members were immediately sent to the scene to help investigate the case and help the wounded, the statement said.

Further investigations are underway.

INDUSTRIES IN CHINA SHOWING SIGNS OF RECOVERY, REPORT SAYS

Certain industries in China showed signs of recovery despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of this year, said a report released by human resources consulting firm Aon Hewitt, news portal thepaper.cn reported.

The 2020 Mid-Year Salary Increase Report for Chinese Market showed lower wage growth across most sectors in China in the first six months of 2020. Covering 576 companies in various cities and industries in China, the report said that the overall salary increase rate for Chinese enterprises was 5.2 percent by mid-year, while the rate in second-tier cities was 5.3 percent, higher than the 5.1 percent rate in the first-tier cities.

Most companies in China registered a sign of recovery, with the projected salary increase rate for 2021 at 5.3 percent, the report said.

Foreign invested pharmaceutical and medical devices reported the highest salary rise this year at 6.5 percent for pharmaceuticals and 6.3 percent for medical devices, the report said, adding that no pharmaceutical companies reported a salary freeze during the period.

Healthcare and high-tech industries were also comparatively stable despite the pandemic. While 20 percent of high-tech firms recorded a salary freeze in the first half, only 5 percent will continue to freeze salary in 2021, indicating optimism of these firms toward future development.

Retail and consumer goods was among the most impacted by COVID-19, however, the industry is showing signs of recovery, with salary increase rate projected to reach 5 to 6 percent by the end of this year, the report said.

Automobile companies suffered setbacks from the pandemic, with industry average salary rising by 4.1 percent, down from the 4.9 percent last year. However, statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed that monthly sales of cars in the second quarter were higher than the same period last year, the report said.

Gary Wu, principal at Aon Hewitt, said artificial intelligence-related positions, such as algorithm engineers, witnessed a salary increase rate of over 15 percent for three straight years, not including the long-term incentives that high-tech companies provide their employees. But Wu also noted that as more AI talents are jumping into the pool in the next five years, junior positions in AI and big data may see lower salary increase rate in the future.

US JUDGE TEMPORARILY BLOCKS TRUMP'S ORDER ON WECHAT BAN

A US judge on Sunday temporarily halted President Donald Trump's executive order to ban WeChat, a Chinese messaging, social-media and mobile-payment app, slated to go into effect Sunday night.

Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in San Francisco issued the order granting motion for preliminary injunction, which determined the restrictions placed on WeChat could violate the Constitutional Amendment rights of its users in the United States.

The plaintiffs, including the US WeChat Users Alliance (USWUA) and other app users argued that WeChat is irreplaceable for its users in the United States, particularly in the Chinese-speaking and Chinese-American community.

On Aug 6, Trump issued an executive order banning US transactions via WeChat, which would take effect on the late night of Sept 20.

To fight for the legal rights of all WeChat users in the country, USWUA, an NGO, sued the Trump administration for the ban. The lawsuit opened in court on Sept 17.

On Friday, the US Commerce Department issued the Identification of Prohibited Transactions. "The result is that consumers in the US cannot download or update the WeChat app, use it to send or receive money, and -- because US support for the app by data hosting and content caching will be eliminated -- the app, while perhaps technically available to existing US users, likely will be useless to them," Judge Beeler wrote in her order.

After three hearings held in three consecutive days, Judge Beeler finally hit pause on the Trump administration's WeChat ban.

DEVELOPMENT TRANSFORMING TO NEW MODEL

China's economic growth will be increasingly driven by domestic consumption and investment, and bolder reform measures are needed to cultivate a more efficient domestic market and unleash the country's potential for higher-quality growth, a senior economist said.

Justin Yifu Lin, honorary dean of the National School of Development at Peking University and former chief economist at the World Bank, sees China's shift from an export-oriented economy to a domestic consumption and investment-driven one as an inevitable step as the Chinese economy grows larger with rising household incomes and the services sector accounting for a greater portion of its GDP.

He also views that shift as the main logic and a key reason behind China's dual-circulation development pattern, which was recently proposed by the country's top leadership.

"In the past, the perception about China's growth was as export-oriented, but now it is a misperception. We need to recognize that as a large economy, an internal market of consumption and investment will be the major drivers of China's growth," Lin said in a recent interview in Beijing.

His comments came as the dual-circulation development pattern raised by Beijing's top policymakers has generated heated discussions and speculation about possible shift of China's development policy and its potential impact on the global economy.

President Xi Jinping has said that China needs to create a new development pattern in which internal economic circulation is the mainstay and the domestic and external markets can complement each other.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Desperation is sometimes as powerful an inspirer as genius. - Benjamin Disraeli