Weekly News Collection

ECONOMICS

Report: Domestic economy remains stable in 2017

The growth trajectory of the Chinese economy remains stable in 2017, according to a report issued by the Institute for Advanced Research at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics on July 5. The report pointed out that China should focus on improvements in two key areas—efficiency of resource allocation and innovation ability—to further boost the real economy. The operating efficiency of enterprises is expected to increase drastically this year relative to last year, and profits of industrial enterprises are projected to grow by more than 20 percent, said Huang Xiaodong, executive deputy director of the institute. However, he warned of the great impact of debt risks, especially increasing household debt. According to the report, the heavy burden of mortgages has weakened the social mobility of young families, middle-age families and elderly families whose children have bought houses with loans.

INNOVATION

Guangzhou emerging as innovation powerhouse

On July 6, the Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences and the Social Sciences Academic Press published a blue book on Guangzhou’s progress in developing innovative enterprises and industries last year. By the end of 2016, 4,742 new high-tech enterprises had been approved, up about 150 percent year-on-year. The majority of them were engaged in the electronic information industry. Guangzhou had more than 9 million 4G users, the most in the country. Its import and export of cross-border e-commerce reached more than 14 billion yuan, accounting for more than 29 percent of China’s total and ranking first among provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. Moreover, enterprises’ invention patent applications accounted for more than half of Guangzhou’s total.

HISTORY

Integrated documents on War of Resistance published
On July 5, a copy of rare documents was published to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the start of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Zhang Guozhu, editor-in-chief of the book, said the book includes the first six volumes of the eight-volume Selections for the War of Resistance, which was published by the Wartime Press founded by Communist Party member Xiang Yu and his wife Liu Wen in Xi’an in 1937, as well as the Records of Guerilla Warfare in North Shanxi Province. It covers various types, such as prose, poem, speeches, declarations and letters, giving an objective and comprehensive description of the nationwide war, and offering valuable materials for research on the history of the war.

BIG DATA

Grading system needed to protect data security

A recent seminar on big data and social sciences called for a grading system to protect cyber and data security. As massive amounts of data accumulate in single locations and information technology advances, the problem of information security will become a bottleneck that restricts the development of big data, said Shen Changxiang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He pointed out that big data security includes security of the internet, systems, supply chain and data. Shen suggested introducing a grading system that is capable of actively preventing breaches in data security to replace the traditional passive approach of plugging, searching and banning. Yu Wenhua, director of the Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Education Big Data Science and Engineering, highlighted the value of big data to social sciences, adding that it is significant to take advantage of digital technology to strengthen research in the field to better serve social development.