XI VISITS YUNNAN ON INSPECTION TOUR AHEAD OF CHINESE NEW YEAR

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, visited southwest China's Yunnan Province Sunday on an inspection tour ahead of Chinese New Year.

Xi went to a village of the Wa ethnic group in Qingshui Township of the city of Tengchong Sunday afternoon to learn about poverty alleviation efforts and extend his Chinese New Year's greetings to the villagers.

He also visited the old town of Heshun, a gateway on the ancient Southern Silk Road that linked China's Sichuan and Yunnan with Myanmar and India, to learn about exchanges, historical and cultural inheritance, as well as ecological and environmental protection along the trade route.

24 SOLAR TERMS: THINGS YOU MUST KNOW ABOUT MAJOR COLD

The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Major Cold (Chinese: å¤§å¯’), the 24th solar term, begins this year on Jan 20 and ends on Feb 3.

Major Cold is the last solar term in winter and also the last solar term in the annual lunar calendar. In this period, snow, rain and icy cold weather exert a big influence on people's lives.

Here are six things you should know about Major Cold.

During Major Cold, as the cold current moves southward, the weather is very cold. Although modern meteorological observation shows that in some regions of China the weather during Major Cold is not colder than Minor Cold, the lowest temperatures of the whole year still occur in the Major Cold period in some coastal areas.

During Major Cold, People in Beijing have a habit of eating "dispelling cold cake", a kind of rice cake. In Chinese the word "rice cake" has the same pronunciation with the word "higher in a new year", which symbolizes good luck and continual promotion.

Major Cold always coincides with the end of the year in the lunar calendar. In some areas of China, people always fall over each other in eagerness to buy sesame straw during this period because of the old saying, "Rise joint by joint like sesame flowers on the stem." This saying is used to describe either ever-rising living standards or making steady progress in thought, studies or skills.

XI'S VISION OF SHARED FUTURE STILL RESONATES

President Xi Jinping's call for building a community with a shared future for mankind continues to resonate with the world, as global politicians and business heavyweights gather in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting this month to brainstorm how to build a "cohesive and sustainable world".

Three years ago, Xi delivered a keynote speech at the Davos forum and called on the international community to jointly meet challenges and chart the right course for economic globalization to promote world development.

The day after the speech, he visited the United Nations Office in Geneva, where he explained his vision of a community with a shared future for mankind and his desire to achieve common and mutually beneficial development.

Xi's Davos speech on Jan 17, 2017, "underscored China's commitment to adapting to and guiding economic globalization", said Stephen Roach, senior fellow at the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs at Yale University, in an interview with China Daily.

The speech came at a time when the world was standing at a crossroad. A vigorous debate about the impact and future of globalization has emerged. The multilateral trading system, with World Trade Organization rules at its core, has been challenged by unilateralism, protectionism and populism.

China stood in sharp contrast with the United States, which subscribes to the notion that protectionism will lead to prosperity and strength, Roach said.

In an interdependent world increasingly linked by vast networks of global value chains — which provide enormous benefits to consumers and workers alike — any backlash against globalization will be a major setback for the world economy, he added.

In his keynote speech, Xi identified the crux of current social and economic problems, charted a path for global economic integration and envisioned a better tomorrow for all.

He suggested that countries should view their own interests in a broader, global context and refrain from pursuing them at the expense of others. He described the community with a shared future as an open, inclusive and beautiful one that fosters lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity.

However, Xi's message was challenged by "the worrisome outbreak of protectionism over the past two years", Roach said.

MYANMAR VISIT HIGHLIGHTS FRIENDSHIP, BRI SYNERGY

President Xi Jinping's just-concluded state visit to Myanmar has cemented the ties between the two neighboring countries, and officials and experts have hailed the visit as "historic" and "a landmark" in their ties.

It was Xi's first trip of the year and the first in 19 years in which a Chinese head of state has visited Myanmar. The significance of the trip is not confined to bilateral relations but serves as an example of how Xi's broader vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind can be put into effect, they said.

The two countries agreed to jointly build a China-Myanmar community with a shared future and highlighted their strengthened partnership in a wide range of fields, including politics, economics, culture and people-to-people exchanges, as well as in regional and international affairs, according to a joint statement released on Saturday, when Xi wrapped up his two-day visit.

Xi's choice to visit Myanmar on his first overseas trip of the year demonstrates the profound pauk-phaw friendship between the two countries and serves as an example of China setting in motion the building of a community with a shared future for mankind in a neighboring country, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters at the close of the visit.

Wang said China's head-of-state diplomacy at the beginning of the New Year has ushered in a new era for China-Myanmar relations in which the Belt and Road Initiative has made major progress.

During the meeting with his Myanmar counterpart, President U Win Myint, Xi made it clear that China firmly supports Myanmar in pursuing a development path that suits its national conditions. Concerted efforts by both countries to build a community with a shared future will inject fresh vitality into bilateral ties, and China stands ready to take advantage of synergies in the BRI and Myanmar's development strategy, he said.

Xi stressed that China's effort to advance the building of a community with a shared future starts with neighboring countries. China will never impose itself on others in international cooperation, he said, and never interfere in the affairs of other countries. It opposes the "you lose, I win" and "one takes all" approaches.

In talks with Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, Xi called for concrete efforts from both sides to build the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor under the framework of the BRI, with a focus on flagship connectivity projects — in particular the Kyaukphyu special economic zone, the cross-border economic cooperation zone and the new urban development of Yangon city.

He also underlined the need for the two countries to make coordinated efforts to press ahead with highways, railways and power grids to enable the corridor's main connectivity network to take shape at an early date.

Xi reached an important consensus with leaders in Myanmar on promoting high-quality construction of the Belt and Road, Wang said, adding that this marks the transition of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor from conceptual planning to substantive construction.

Experts said Xi's Myanmar tour sent out a clear message that the country attaches importance to the relationship with its Asian neighbor. Myanmar, as a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, plays an important role in regional affairs, and it also has special status in advancing BRI cooperation.

SEVERAL ECONOMIC INDICATORS SIGNAL POSITIVE OUTLOOK

China's economy has shown positive changes in production, consumption, market expectations and prices, indicating that the world's second-largest economy is stable and resilient in the face of headwinds and is laying a solid foundation to counter downward pressure, officials and experts said.

In December, the country's growth in industrial output, retail sales and foreign trade accelerated. Surveys of purchasing managers indicate that market expectations are improving, Meng Wei, a spokeswoman for the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a news conference on Sunday.

Consumer prices month-on-month also stopped rising in December, she said.

Value-added industrial output rose by 6.9 percent in December from a year earlier, 0.7 percentage points faster than the previous month. The purchasing manager's index, which reflects market expectations about conditions in the country's manufacturing sector, remained unchanged at 50.2 in December, the second straight month of expansion in factory activity.

The consumer price index rose by 4.5 percent year-on-year in December, but its growth was zero month-on-month.

"Those changes are the result of a series of policy measures and indicate that the Chinese economy has strong resilience, great potential and a lot of leeway," she said, adding that as more supportive policies are implemented in the coming months, the positive trend should continue.

China's overall economy expanded by 6.1 percent year-on-year in 2019, meeting the preset target range of 6 to 6.5 percent for the year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Meng noted that China's per capita GDP exceeded $10,000 for the first time in 2019, a solid step toward becoming a high-income country. But she said the country still lags far behind developed countries, which typically have a per capita GDP of more than $30,000.

Looking ahead, China's GDP growth should be around 6 percent this year, said Tang Jianwei, chief researcher at the Bank of Communications' Financial Research Center.

"China's economy, despite downside pressure, is likely to remain steady this year, as external headwinds may ease in the coming months and the effects of countercyclical macroeconomic policies gradually appear."

Tang added that the recent phase-one economic and trade agreement signed by China and the United States is expected to inject confidence into both economies, and China may witness a pickup in growth this year.

Zhang Wei, an analyst at Southwest Securities in Chongqing, said the Sino-US agreement is conducive to piping more foreign investment and talent into China, which will help foster high-quality development and push reforms forward.

The NDRC's Meng said, "Deepening Sino-US economic and trade cooperation is in line with China's high-quality economic development requirements. It's conducive to promoting more competition in the domestic market and speeding up the upgrading of products and services.

"Chinese companies will follow WTO rules and negotiate import agreements with US companies in accordance with market-based principles to expand imports of goods and services from the US."

Meng urged more efforts to optimize the business environment as part of the country's larger drive to deepen reforms and open up the economy, which will also add new momentum for the economy.

China has shortened its negative list in three consecutive years, with the number of items down to 40 from 93.

"In the next step, China will open up more industries to foreign investors with a shortened negative list for foreign access to business sectors," Meng said.

YEAR OF RAT IS ALSO YEAR OF KANGAROO AND KOALA

As we step into 2020, we also step into a new 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac. The year 2020, according to the lunar calendar, is the year of shu. In English, it is simply the Year of the Rat (or Mouse).

But how did the humble little mouse get to lead the pack of the animals despite the presence of powerful animals such as the tiger and the dragon in the Chinese zodiac. One theory is that the mouse is the most versatile among all animals. A mouse can swim, run and climb. It does not fly, but it can climb to the top of the roof. In 2020, Japan will host the Summer Olympic Games. If there were an Olympic Games for animals, a mouse could be the triathlon winner.

Mice and rats can feed themselves even during a famine due to their agility and mobility afforded by their versatility. China used to be a subsistence economy in which many accorded the top priority to food. Until recently, people greeted each other with the question,"Have you eaten rice?" This greeting seems to an outsider to be an invasion of privacy, but shows the genuine care a person has for a fellow human.

While the world is seeing China as an increasingly affluent country, there are still many Chinese who live in poverty. For them, New Year resolutions probably do not include special diets to lose weight.

As we start a new year, let us pay attention to the invisible masses of people who deserve the security of food, clothing and shelter. A country's strength comes from the way its leaders and citizens care for the poor. Hence, the fight against poverty should continue to be relevant even in the new decade.

The year 2020 should also be the year of the kangaroo (and the koala), as the world watches with pain and anguish the bushfires raging across Australia. These wildfires have not only claimed many human lives and displaced thousands of people, but also killed millions of animals including kangaroos (and koalas). If humans are responsible for triggering the fires, they should also have the responsibility to come together to combat the disaster and minimize the risks for the future of the Earth.

As for shu, I also find it associated with the computer mouse, a liberating gadget. Let us also celebrate the ingenuity of the inventors and technologists who invented the computer mouse.

As we start the Year of the Rat, I wish you health and prosperity. I also hope that people across the world are kind to others and work to build a better world. Happy New Year!

WUHAN REPORTS 136 NEW PNEUMONIA CASES; 3 IN BEIJING AND GUANGDONG

Beijing reported two new coronavirus-related pneumonia cases Monday, according to local health authorities.

Two patients in Beijing's Daxing district have been transferred to local hospitals for further treatment, said Daxing district Health Commission. The patients are currently in a stable condition.

People who had close contacts with the patients are under observation, and no abnormalities such as fever have been found, the local health commission said.

Clinical symptoms and epidemiological investigations confirmed that the illnesses are coronavirus-related pneumonia, the statement from the local health commission said. The two patients recently traveled to Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province.

On Sunday, the National Health Commission confirmed the first new coronavirus-related pneumonia case in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. A 66-year-old male who visited relatives in Wuhan was diagnosed with fever and fatigue and later his illness was confirmed this weekend.

East China’s Zhejiang province reported five cases of suspected new corona virus-related pneumonia cases on Monday, according to local health authorities.

Cases were reported in cities including Wenzhou, Zhoushan, Taizhou and Hangzhou since Jan 17 with all patients traveling from Wuhan.

All the patients are currently in stable condition and receiving treatments in isolation at designated hospitals. Those who had close contact with the patients are under medical observation.

By Sunday night, 198 cases have been reported in Wuhan, among whom three people have died, 44 are in critical condition, and 25 have been discharged, according to the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission Monday morning.