KEY MEETING REAFFIRMS PARTY LEADERSHIP ROLE

A key meeting presided over by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, on Tuesday reaffirmed the importance of upholding Party leadership over work in all areas and aspects.

During the daylong meeting, the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee heard reports from Party organizations of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the State Council, the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

Xi delivered a speech at the meeting. There was also a report from the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee.

In upholding Party leadership, the primary requirement is to firmly uphold the authority of the Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership, a statement released after the meeting said.

Party leadership and the authority of the Central Committee are the fundamental reason why the country has been able to take solid and assured steps forward over the years in the face of a challenging and complex situation — both within and outside China — and in light of various risks, the statement said.

The CPC Central Committee's receiving of reports from the Party organizations of the five State bodies and the Secretariat each year is an important part of the Party's leadership mechanism, it said, adding that the practice must be upheld and refined so it can be transformed into efficient State governance.

Efforts by the Party organizations of the five State bodies were acknowledged. They were applauded for carrying out the decisions and plans of the Central Committee, discharging their duties in the overall work of the Party and country, adopting concrete measures to enhance the building of Party organizations and fully implementing their responsibilities for strict Party governance over the past year.

The Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee was also commended for ensuring the implementation of decisions and plans from the Central Committee, improving Party regulations and mechanisms and guiding the work and reform of people's organizations.

This year will see the conclusion of the task of building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, as well as the fulfillment of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), and Party organizations from the five State bodies must closely align themselves with the Central Committee in terms of political stance, direction, principle and path, the statement said.

OVER 50,000 YUAN BONUS EXPECTED FOR 26% OF NEW MIDDLE-CLASS FAMILIES

About 26 percent of China's new middle-class families are expected to have an over 50,000 yuan ($7,200) year-end bonus this year, according to a recent report jointly released by Tenpay from Tencent and 21st Century Economics Research Institute.

The report, which made an analysis of Chinese households with an annual income of more than 200,000 yuan, shows 16 percent are predicted to have an annual bonus of less than 10,000 yuan, 35.5 percent to gain 10,000-50,000 yuan, and 12.2 percent to receive 50,000-100,000 yuan. About 4.6 percent families are projected to get 100,000 to 200,000 yuan, and 9.2 percent to see above 200,000 yuan.

Some 22.5 percent may not have their year-end awards, the report said. Meanwhile, among those with an annual income of more than 800,000 yuan, 31.96 percent are expected to have an over 200,000 yuan bonus.

The report also shows the income of most of the new middle class in 2019 remains the same as the year before or slightly increased, and families with a higher income tend to see a greater earning growth.

Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou are the top four cities where those new middle-class families live.

New middle-class families in the energy industry have the highest annual award, followed by those in financial and real estate industries, and then the popular internet and information and communication technology industries, the report showed.

The top three expenditures from the new middle-class families are daily expenses, house rental and mortgages, and children's education. Families with higher income stand out in spending more on their children's education, the report said.

In 2019, 55 percent of those families spend 10-30 percent of their total expenditures in children's education, and 9.9 percent see the proportion exceeding 50 percent, of which most have an annual income of over 500,000 yuan, according to the report.

The country's new middle class has a stable expectation for their future income changes. About 72.2 percent of the respondents believe that their income in 2020 will be the same as in 2019 or slightly raised, among which 38.6 percent expect a slight increase and 33.6 percent no changes.

As for investment income sources in 2019, 31 percent of respondents' income mainly comes from funds or wealth management products, and 30.5 percent from investment in real estate. The vast majority of new middle-class families have made profits from investment and financial management, but their overall returns are small, and 40 percent have a 0-4 percent return on investment and financial management, the report said.

CHINA TO BECOME FIRST TO REALIZE UN GOAL OF 'NO POVERTY'

China is poised to realize a dream that a few decades ago most experts would have dismissed as wishful thinking. For centuries, China dreamed of building a "moderately prosperous society" in all respects. And this year, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, China will realize that dream despite having a population of more than 1.3 billion.

Late leader Deng Xiaoping resurrected this ancient but never-realized goal when reform and opening-up were launched. Chinese leaders who followed adopted it, adding additional details.

President Xi Jinping included it in his seminal "four-pronged comprehensive strategy" in 2014. Xi explained the notion in great detail at the 19th National Congress of the CPC in October 2017 in a speech titled, "Secure a Decisive Victory in Building a Moderately Prosperous Society in All Respects", mentioning the concept 18 times.

He said that building a moderately prosperous society in all respects meant promoting social fairness and justice, as well as ensuring steady access to childcare, education, employment, medical service, elderly care, housing and social assistance. He pledged to "intensify poverty alleviation, see that all our people have a greater sense of fulfillment as they contribute to and gain from development, and continue to promote well-rounded human development and common prosperity for everyone."

Now, a little more than two years later, the results are in, and China is about to eradicate absolute poverty.

In 1979, China's per capita GDP was $200. It is now estimated to be $10,000, a 50-fold increase−with GDP growth averaging just shy of 10 percent a year.

Over the past four decades, China has lifted about 800 million people out of poverty, which is 70 percent of the global total. Little wonder China is set to become the first developing country to achieve the first of the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals: No poverty.

China's rural population living under the currently defined poverty line of $1.90 per person per day fell from 770 million in 1978 to 16.6 million in 2018, and the rural poverty level declined from 97.5 percent to 1.7 percent, a decrease of 95.8 percent.

In 2019 alone, about 340 impoverished counties and 10 million people were lifted out of poverty. And Xi has pledged that after the eradication of absolutely poverty in 2020, China will launch a campaign to eliminate relative poverty.

GOVT TARGETS INTRUSIONS OF YANGTZE SHORELINES

The authority that manages the Yangtze River plans to put prices on shoreline use and enhance law enforcement to end illegal intrusions into the country's longest watercourse.

A special campaign against illegal intrusions launched in 2018 has already seen some 2,000 construction projects demolished or corrected.

Chen Guangcai, deputy director of the Changjiang Water Resources Commission's development department for the Yangtze River Economic Belt, said the commission wants to see a pricing mechanism included in a special law protecting the river. That law is currently being worked on.

The commission will research systems to approve, transfer and withdraw shoreline use rights. The application of the pricing mechanism is expected to "promote conservation and intensive use of shoreline resources", he said.

Chen stressed that the utilization of Yangtze shoreline resources will strictly observe "red lines" for ecological protection. "For shorelines that need protection, development and utilization will be forbidden and strict compulsory protection will be carried out," he said.

Red lines in China often take the form of geographical boundaries that should not be crossed.

Chen said the commission will also seek to establish a joint law enforcement mechanism involving different regions and government bodies to enhance governance of the Yangtze's shorelines as it continues special campaigns to stamp out violations, such as illegal sand excavation and the intrusion of construction projects into the waterway.

The Ministry of Water Resources, which oversees the commission, said 710 construction projects that intruded into the Yangtze had been demolished as of the end of last year, with 73 others marked for demolition. Of the 1,658 projects with violations that could be rectified without demolition, 1,410 have been fixed, it said.

In another campaign launched in 2018, the ministry found 1,376 sites where trash had been dumped along the Yangtze. All were cleaned up in the first half of last year.

The Changjiang Water Resources Commission said the river has seen continuous improvement in water quality since Jan 5, 2016, when President Xi Jinping presided over a national conference in Chongqing about the Yangtze River Economic Belt. At the conference, he demanded concerted efforts to protect the Yangtze and the avoidance of excessive development.

RAIL LINE OPENS NEW PROSPECTS

The opening of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway is expected to help with poverty alleviation among rural residents and counties in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, bringing more opportunities to boost local industries, particularly with the 2022 Winter Olympics approaching.

Zhangjiakou, about 200 kilometers northwest of Beijing and the co-host city of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, is the most impoverished area near the capital. Of its 18 counties and districts, five are deeply impoverished.

By the end of 2019, around 98,000 rural residents from 747 villages in Zhangjiakou had been lifted from poverty, according to local authorities.

The example of Zhangjiakou demonstrates the Communist Party of China's pledge to establish a moderately prosperous society in all respects before the celebration of its centenary in 2021 and lift all rural residents out of poverty, said Xu Lin, head of the State Council Information Office.

"It also means significantly that this year we will make every effort to achieve the goal from the grassroots level."

Xu made the remarks to journalists who were about to start an investigative reporting tour of poverty-relief projects in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, on Tuesday.

"These vivid stories and achievements in poverty alleviation demonstrate the progress China has made in poverty reduction, which will provide good examples for the next generation," he said.

Han Shuqing, a senior official from China State Railway Group, said there were 1,967 railway lines passing through impoverished regions in 2019.

Of those, the 174-km Beijing-Zhangjiakou line, with a maximum designed speed of 350 km/h, reduces the travel time between the two cities from more than three hours to 47 minutes, making Hebei one of the few provinces with a high-speed rail system connecting all of its cities, he said.

Northwestern Beijing's Yanqing district also has benefited from the opening of the railway.

Yu Bo, the district director, said the railway overcame the transport problems that the mountainous area once faced and it will greatly help the holding of the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics.

SHENZHEN ADVISERS URGE STRONGER LINKS WITH HONG KONG

Political advisers in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, called on Tuesday for enhanced youth exchanges between the city and Hong Kong to help overcome problems in the financial hub and also fuel the further growth of its mainland neighbor.

The Shenzhen municipal committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the city's political advisory body, started its annual meeting on Tuesday.

A key focus of its members is how to promote youth exchanges among the Chinese mainland, and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

Dai Beifang, chairman of the standing committee, said in his work report that the city's political advisory body will make greater efforts on guiding members to firmly support the SAR governments and chief executives in carrying out law-based governance, and actively participate in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

It will also play a more active role in promoting youth exchanges among Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macao, he said.

John Ma Hung-ming, a member of Shenzhen CPPCC who is also vice-chairman of Hong Kong-listed catering service provider Carrianna Holdings, said the Bay Area blueprint, which was officially launched in February, provides huge opportunities for Hong Kong people, as they can develop their careers in a much larger market.

He suggested that deeper exchanges should be carried out not only among young people in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, but also among professionals from the two cities.

Jamie Sze Wine-him, vice-chairman of All-China Youth Federation, echoed his view. Shenzhen enterprises should offer more internship opportunities to young people from Hong Kong and Macao and set up a joint program on cultivating youth talents, he said.

Sze also suggested that more Hong Kong and Macao students should be admitted to mainland universities.

REGULATORS ACT TO AVOID RISKS FROM DIGITALIZED PRODUCTS

Financial regulators in China are moving to manage digitalized products, especially those based on new technology such as blockchain, to prevent systemic risks.

The People's Bank of China, the central bank, is preparing the first set of regulations governing blockchain and is strengthening supervision of financial technology, the bank's fintech committee said late last month.

The committee, established in May 2017, is tasked with strengthening the implementation of regulatory technology.

Given the rapid development of financial technology in China, regulators are facing mounting challenges, ranging from illegal online fundraising to financial fraud; from money laundering to leaks of personal data.

In Beijing, the PBOC has established the country's first pilot program to regulate fintech innovation. Many experts describe the program as a Chinese version of the so-called regulatory sandbox−an experiment allowing pioneering solutions and technologies to be deployed in a live but controlled setting.

In 2015, the world's first regulatory sandbox was created in the United Kingdom, a move later followed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Li Wei, director of the PBOC Science and Technology Department, said China's regulatory tools for fintech innovation have many similarities with the sandboxes in the UK and Singapore.

"The tools are in line with China's national conditions, and also comply with international standards," Li said.

The fintech regulatory pilot program will help provide a real market with controllable risks to detect and avoid defects in fintech products and potential risks, while protecting consumers' rights and interests.

Zeng Zhicheng, deputy head of the PBOC Operations Office in Beijing, said that as of last month, 46 fintech projects had been included in the pilot program, involving 77 companies.

In a statement, the PBOC fintech committee said that all financial service apps should register on the regulators' administrative system this year. The new regulation will standardize the management of apps and improve the security level of online financial service channels.

The bank said China has published a three-year fintech development plan, covering last year to next. The plans aims to set up a system of basic regulations for fintech supervision and create inclusive and prudent regulatory tools for innovating the technology.