XI SENDS GREETINGS TO SCIENTISTS FROM CHINA'S 1ST SATELLITE LAUNCH

President Xi Jinping extended sincere greetings to the elder scientists who participated in the successful launch of the country's first man-made satellite 50 years ago and expected China's space industry workers to learn from their predecessors' spirit and strive to build the nation a strong space power.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, wrote in a letter in reply to some distinguished Chinese space scientists who participated in the Dongfanghong-1 mission that new generations of space industry workers should learn and uphold the spirit of those who took part in the making of the nation's first nuclear weapon, ballistic missile and satellite.

He encouraged them to overcome all possible difficulties and hardships to achieve new heights in space science and technology.

"(You should) strive to strengthen and expand our space explorations and make our country a great space power as soon as possible," the president wrote.

Xi also wrote that he was in Liangjiahe village of Shaanxi province 50 years ago when he heard about the launch of China's first satellite and he was very excited about the great news.

He recalled that the scientists' enterprise, diligence and perseverance inspired the whole nation at that time and exemplified the Chinese people's striving spirit.

A number of decorated space scientists including Sun Jiadong and Wang Xiji recently wrote a letter to Xi, expressing their expectations for China's space sector.

On April 24, 1970, the first Chinese satellite Dongfanghong-1, or The East is Red 1, was lifted by China's first carrier rocket – Long March 1.

The mission made China the fifth nation in the world to independently design, build and launch a satellite. The spacecraft worked 28 days before it ran out of power, but the satellite still travels in its orbit.

Since then, China has sent over 500 spacecraft into the universe and developed more than 20 models of carrier rockets.

In 2016, China set April 24 as the China Space Day. Space authorities and major contractors organize various events around the date each year to commemorate past accomplishments in the nation's space sector.

China carried out more space missions in 2019 than any other spacefaring nations in the world, with 32 successful orbital launches.

CHINESE MARKET REMAINS KEY FOR MULTINATIONALS

Multinational companies are showing their strong commitment to the Chinese market, with some of their local factories posting record production figures and a new foreign investment project being launched despite the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Manish Bhatia, executive vice-president of global operations of US chip giant Micron Technology Inc, said the company's manufacturing plant in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, saw record output amid the contagion.

"The chip packaging and testing plant has been operating at full capacity since January," Bhatia said. "The local government has been very helpful in helping us maintain operations. None of our employees are infected with the virus."

"China is a very important market for us," Bhatia said, adding that the company is not changing its plans for the nation."We really value our employees here. Amid the outbreak, they kept coming to work and ensuring continuous production at the highest level. That is really exemplary," he added.

Micron is one of the foreign companies that have benefited from the China's sizable market, as the nation makes steady progress in improving its business environment.

Denis Depoux, global managing director at consultancy Roland Berger, said China boasts a sound industrial system, efficient infrastructure, leading technologies and a rich talent reserve, providing an incomparable market for foreign-invested enterprises.

In the past five years, US tech heavyweights Apple Inc, Intel Corp and Finnish telecom equipment maker Nokia have seen 60 percent growth in their China-generated revenues, according to a report by Roland Berger and Emlyon Business School, a leading French business school.

"Today, when the trend of anti-globalization is on the rise, China still strives to offer more opportunities for foreign-invested enterprises by refining its legal framework and widening market access, significantly boosting the confidence of foreign stakeholders," Depoux said.

On Wednesday, multinational oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil broke ground on its chemical complex in Huizhou, Guangdong province, a sign of China's rebounding economy as the outbreak's impact subsides.

The complex, with a total investment of about $10 billion, will be built in two phases. The first phase, with an ethylene cracker and downstream production equipment, is scheduled to be completed by 2023 when construction on the second phase will begin.

ExxonMobil Chairman and CEO Darren Woods said the project reflects China's growing commitment to foreign direct investment and fostering innovation, and the company will continue its strategic long-term investments in the nation.

Huang Libin, a spokesman for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said on Thursday it has taken decades for the current global supply chain systems to take shape, which enables the most efficient circulation of goods and services.

"China's well-planned industrial systems and sound infrastructure gives us the confidence to retain foreign companies. We will also work harder to create a better pro-business environment for them and offer higher-quality services," Huang said.

In a recent report by the American Chamber of Commerce in China and American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, 68 percent of the surveyed US companies said they expect to see a return to normal activities in China in less than three months.

In contrast to some global narratives, our China-based data suggests that the majority of our members will not be packing up and leaving China anytime soon," said Alan Beebe, president of AmCham China.

Beebe said certain companies in certain industries may diversify away from China or even expand manufacturing operations in the US given the current climate. But this is "a costly, time consuming, and largely irreversible process", he added.

"It is worth emphasizing that China appears ahead of the global curve when it comes to restarting the economy following months of lockdown, and many of the reasons why companies are in China in the first place still hold true today," he said.

The Chinese government's decisive handling of the novel coronavirus outbreak also won applause from foreign companies and boosted their confidence in the nation.

NATION SENDS $30M MORE TO WHO FOR COVID-19

China has decided to donate another $30 million to the World Health Organization for containing COVID-19 and supporting developing countries in improving their health systems.

The world is at a crucial stage in fighting the pandemic, and support for the WHO means defending multilateralism and upholding the authority of the United Nations, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, who made the announcement on Thursday.

China previously donated $20 million to the WHO for tackling the virus. China's donation shows the support the Chinese government and people have for the WHO, as well as their trust in the organization, Geng said at a daily news conference.

Since the outbreak started, the WHO has been carrying out its duty, adhering to an objective, fair and scientific position, and has played an important part in coordinating efforts among countries and promoting international cooperation to control the pandemic, Geng said.

The decision came in less than two weeks after the US announced it would temporarily stop funding the WHO, while many other countries have voiced their support for the organization.

Working in unity is the only way the international community can overcome the virus, he reiterated, adding that China hopes to cooperate with all parties in this fight, and contribute to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Also, on Thursday, Geng said there's no such thing as "wildlife wet markets" in China, which has banned illegal hunting, trade, transport and consumption of wildlife by legislation.

Geng made the remark after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on China to close such markets permanently in his press statement on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on Wednesday.

The concept of "wet markets" doesn't exist in China, Geng said. More common in the country are farm produce markets, live poultry markets and seafood markets, where fresh produce, including meat, fish and vegetables are traded, he pointed out.

"These markets not only exist in China, but have a wide presence in many Southeast Asian countries and developing countries," Geng said.

These markets are closely related to the life of local people, and their operation is not restricted by international law, he added.

Such markets in China are not for wildlife trade, and it is illegal to sell wildlife there, Geng said, adding that people who do this will be punished.

"The Chinese government has always put people's lives and health front and center," he said. Since the COVID-19 outbreak started, China's authorities have further strengthened management of these markets by carrying out strict quarantines and tests, Geng said.

HIGH-QUALITY IP DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS GETTING A BOOST

China is strengthening efforts in high-quality intellectual property development while seeing a surge of IP-related registrations, according to an official at the country's top IP regulator.

Thanks to the fast growth of technological innovation and increasingly intensified protection on IP rights over the past few years, "China has become a nation with a large number of IP applications and is on the way to being more powerful by improving the quality of IP rights," said Shen Changyu, commissioner of the National Intellectual Property Administration.

While making the remarks at a news conference on Thursday about IP rights development held by the State Council Information Office in Beijing, he noted that the numbers of effective trademarks and patents have kept rising in the past decade.

Last year, for example, the Chinese mainland had more than 1.86 million valid invention patents and about 25.2 million effective registered trademarks, up respectively from 84,000 and 2.35 million in 2007, he said.

The legal and administrative efforts in protecting IP rights and people's awareness of respecting innovation have been intensified and promoted, he added.

All the achievements could be regarded as a result of the Outline of the National Property Strategy issued in 2008, "and they also lay a solid foundation for our next step−to build a high-quality IP rights nation," he said.

He said the administration has completed a draft of another outline designed to help China grow into an IP powerhouse by 2035, "and we'll speed up the formulation of the document and submit it to the central government for approval this year," he added.

To better handle the soaring numbers of applications of trademarks and patents, the country has improved its examination efficiency in a bid to offer quick IP-related services for applicants, according to He Zhimin, deputy head of the administration.

"For instance, the average time for trademark registration has been reduced to 14.5 months, which could be the fastest in the world," He said. "Meanwhile, many services related to trademark applications and assignments can be finished online, and the examination procedures have been more transparent."

"We've also harshly cracked down on trademark squatting or hoarding to ensure the quality of the applications," he said, adding that a total of 39,000 improper trademark applications were revoked from April to December last year.

He told media the administration is further streamlining procedures for applying for trademarks and patents to provide more convenience for applicants and promote innovation.

"But fighting improper applications and regulating trademark agents will also be strengthened," he said.

OFFICIALS WORK TO RELIEVE POVERTY IN XINJIANG COUNTY

Nearly 400 officials have been tasked with fine-tuning poverty alleviation measures in Moyu county, in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region's Hotan prefecture.

The officials−45 from the regional government and 336 from the prefecture−are studying the situation in Moyu with an aim to adjust poverty alleviation measures to local conditions.

Moyu, in the southern part of the Taklimakan Desert, has been poverty-stricken for decades due to its tough environment.

There are still 83 impoverished villages in Moyu, but another 237 have been lifted out of poverty since China launched its poverty alleviation campaign in 2015.

To achieve the goal of pulling all people out of poverty by the end of this year, the 381 officials have been divided into 21 guidance groups that have been sent to all villages in the county.

Li Shaobai, a 45-year-old official from the county's working committee, is the leader of the 18th guidance group, which is inspecting 20 villages−four of them poverty-stricken−to discover poverty-related issues that have been overlooked.

"Because of the outbreak of COVID-19, we had to stop our work in February, but since the campaign started in late January, our nine-man group has already visited 12 villages," Li said.

"Whether the issues are big or small, as long as they are a concern for the villagers or have had a negative influence on their incomes, we will gather them and report them to the local government. After the local government finds the solutions, we will oversee and fully implement the measures."

The guidance groups need to visit five to 20 households in every village that has been lifted out of poverty, as well as every household in poverty-stricken villages to understand their situation and try to find specific measures to help them increase their incomes.

A few years ago, farmer Tursuntohet Mehmet was one of the poorest villagers in Moyu's Jahanbag village and was only able to survive with the help of a local government subsidy.

"The officials in the village told us about his situation, and when we visited Tursuntohet's home, we found he lived alone and his life was a struggle," Li said. "So, together with the local cadres, we raised money for him, helped him to buy 100 chicks to raise and also found him a stable job."

Tursuntohet said his job as a village sanitation worker paid 2,400 yuan ($340) a year, and he was also eligible for an annual government subsidy of 2,700 yuan.

"With additional income from the chickens I raise, I can earn more than 6,000 yuan a year," he said.

Abulet Nurmehmet, the first Party chief of Jahanbag village, said he is thankful for the help from the team.

"Sometimes it is difficult for the people to find the problem from inside," he said. "The team helped a lot.

"They can find the problems we did not notice, and I hope that with our mutual cooperation, we can succeed in the battle against poverty here."

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Collective judgment of new ideas is so often wrong that it is arguable that progress depends on individuals being free to back their own judgment despite collective disapproval. - W.A. Lewis