Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, President of the People's Republic of China, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, recently issued important instructions on audit work, emphasizing that auditing is an important part of the Party and state's supervision system. In recent years, audit agencies have played an active role in promoting healthy economic development, safeguarding national economic security, uncovering risks and hidden dangers, and advancing anti-corruption efforts, focusing on the overall work of the Party and the state and adhering to their role in economic supervision. Xi Jinping stressed that on the new journey, guided by Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, it is essential to uphold the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee over audit work, focus on primary responsibilities, deepen reform and innovation, strengthen self-improvement, and strive to build a centralized, unified, comprehensive, authoritative, and efficient audit supervision system. This will continuously improve the quality and effectiveness of audit supervision, safeguard high-quality economic and social development with high-quality audit supervision, and make new contributions to comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization. The National Audit Work Conference and the Commendation Conference for National Audit Advanced Collectives and Advanced Workers were held in Beijing from January 10 to 11. At the conference, State Councilor and Secretary-General of the State Council Wu Zhenglong conveyed Xi Jinping's important instructions, and 80 advanced collectives and 45 advanced workers from national audit agencies were commended.
General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out, "We must grasp the direction of digitalization, networking, and intelligence, and promote the digitalization of industries such as manufacturing, services, and agriculture." At the beginning of the new year, various regions are accelerating digital village construction, using informatization to drive and lead the modernization of agriculture and rural areas, and promote high-quality and efficient agriculture and livable and pleasant rural areas. Despite being in the depths of winter, as digital technology increasingly integrates with rural production and life, traditional villages across China are bursting with new vitality. Robotic arms pick fruits, and sensors monitor the environment. In the country's 40 million mu of modern facility greenhouses, digital "new farm tools" are safeguarding the winter "vegetable basket" supply. Meanwhile, in nearly 160,000 village-level e-commerce service stations across the country, goods are constantly being sent and received, establishing important channels for agricultural products to enter cities and consumer goods to go to the countryside. Digital rural areas are the strategic direction for rural revitalization. General Secretary Xi Jinping attaches great importance to digital rural construction. Whether during local inspections or at relevant meetings, he has repeatedly made clear deployments on how to build digital rural areas. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out the need to target the main direction of agricultural modernization, improve the intelligence of agricultural production and the networking of operations, and help the vast number of farmers increase their income. He emphasized the importance of making good use of modern information technology, innovating rural governance methods, and improving the level of good governance in rural areas. From the first mention of "implementing the digital village strategy" in the No. 1 Central Document in 2018 to the issuance of the "Digital Village Construction Guide 2.0" in 2024, China has built the "four pillars and eight beams" for digital village construction. Today, China's rural areas have continuously enhanced their digital technology supply capabilities, having achieved "gigabit access in every county, 5G in every township, and broadband in every village," with the proportion of administrative villages covered by 5G exceeding 90%. The number of rural internet users has reached 304 million, and the internet penetration rate in rural areas has reached 63.8%. At the same time, nearly 200 remote sensing satellites are in orbit, providing diverse service products such as crop growth assessment and disaster monitoring and assessment for agricultural production, continuously advancing agricultural science and technology innovation. As of now, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has cumulatively supported the construction of 34 national digital agriculture innovation centers and sub-centers, and 116 national smart agriculture innovation application projects. Today, China's rural e-commerce service system has basically taken shape. Since 2014, the state has cumulatively supported 1,489 counties in carrying out comprehensive e-commerce demonstrations in rural areas, and the supported regions have cumulatively built over 2,800 county-level e-commerce public service centers and logistics distribution centers. It is estimated that the online retail sales of agricultural products through e-commerce will exceed 630 billion yuan for the entire year of 2024. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee proposed improving the institutional mechanisms for integrated urban-rural development. The Central Economic Work Conference held at the end of last year proposed coordinating the promotion of new urbanization and comprehensive rural revitalization, and promoting integrated urban-rural development. Digital village construction has become an important starting point for promoting integrated urban-rural development. With the continuously improving rural digital infrastructure, various regions are exploring differentiated approaches to digital village construction. Eastern regions are more focused on the intercommunication and sharing of agriculture-related data, showing a clustered effect. As a national digital village leading area, Zhejiang Province is currently making efforts to build a "smart agriculture leading area" this year. In the smart grain and vegetable supply industrial park in Changxing, Zhejiang, this "rural brain" that gathers massive amounts of data not only allows technicians to easily manage tens of thousands of crops, but also connects with market-end data to precisely guide the planting of each crop, improving the economic benefits of the industrial park. During the interviews, reporters noticed that in the process of digital village construction, western regions, mainly composed of plateaus, mountains, and basins, focus on using characteristic agriculture as a breakthrough to drive the overall development of digital villages. Lueyang County in Shaanxi, located on the southern slopes of the Qinling Mountains, was selected as one of the second batch of national digital village pilot areas last year. With the help of digital technology, this mountainous county actively explores a combination of standardized and free-range farming of Lueyang black chickens, and simultaneously conducts e-commerce live streaming in free-range areas, selling chilled chickens. Aiming at the goal of digital village development, China has currently announced two batches of national digital village pilot areas, which are focusing on key areas such as digital industries for rural prosperity, digital rural governance, and digital public services in rural areas. They are continuously exploring paths and models that conform to their actual conditions and have regional characteristics, creating a number of typical development models, further stimulating new momentum for rural development, and providing solid support for accelerating the construction of an agricultural powerhouse.
General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, fully affirming the new progress and achievements in comprehensively strict Party governance over the past year. With a farsighted historical perspective, he profoundly grasped the basic laws of the anti-corruption struggle, deeply analyzed the current situation of the anti-corruption struggle, put forward clear requirements for resolutely winning the tough and protracted battle against corruption, and made strategic deployments for deeply promoting comprehensive strict Party governance. The vast number of cadres and the public expressed that they would unswervingly push the anti-corruption struggle further in the direction guided by General Secretary Xi Jinping.
On January 11, Vice President Han Zheng met with British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves in Beijing. Han Zheng stated that China attaches great importance to developing China-UK relations, and the restart of the China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue is a concrete action to implement the important consensus reached by President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Starmer during their meeting. Both China and the UK are major global economies and financial powers. Adhering to their strategic partnership, strengthening economic and financial cooperation between the two sides holds significant meaning for promoting economic growth, improving people's livelihoods, and fostering green development in both countries, and will also inject confidence and impetus into the development of the world economy. China-UK economic and trade cooperation is extensive and has broad prospects. China is willing to continue expanding opening-up and exchanges, enhancing understanding and mutual trust, and deepening mutually beneficial cooperation with the UK to better benefit both countries and the world. Reeves stated that the restart of the UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue after nearly six years is of great significance. The UK values developing relations with China and is willing to strengthen candid dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation with China to promote the economic development of their respective countries.
The anti-seismic and disaster relief efforts for the magnitude 6.8 earthquake in Dingri, Tibet, are currently in a critical phase. All parties are implementing the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping, expediting various tasks such as rescue and resettlement, and ensuring the basic living needs of the affected people with care and dedication. As of 12:00 PM today (January 11), medical institutions at all levels in the autonomous region have cumulatively treated 338 injured people, with 244 discharged after treatment. The Shigatse People's Hospital mainly admits patients with more severe symptoms. Currently, over 30 national-level experts and more than 20 regional-level experts have established systems for remote consultations, joint ward rounds, and dedicated care for severely injured patients, striving to save lives. Resettlement work for affected residents is also intensifying. By this afternoon, 1,250 prefabricated houses have been erected in Dingri County. Post-disaster recovery and reconstruction are progressing simultaneously. Today, military and civilian rescue forces in the affected area are stepping up efforts to clear debris and search for supplies, preparing for subsequent reconstruction. The Ministry of Water Resources is guiding the affected area to promptly repair damaged water supply facilities and strengthen emergency water supply guarantees. To ensure stable and safe drinking water for residents in the affected area, the first integrated smart emergency water supply equipment with a daily output of 100 tons of purified water and 1,500 tons of tap water has been transported to Cuoguo Township and is expected to be installed by tomorrow. The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transport recently urgently allocated 30 million yuan to support Tibet's earthquake-stricken areas in promptly carrying out highway repair and ensuring traffic flow, and to strengthen hazard investigation and professional inspection of highways and bridges in the affected areas, strictly preventing secondary disasters, and fully guaranteeing smooth transportation channels for emergency relief supplies and essential goods.
In the magnitude 6.8 earthquake in Dingri, Tibet, Ciren Pingcuo, the Party Branch Secretary of Gurong Village, Changsuo Township, Dingri County, tragically lost his mother. Enduring the grief of losing a loved one, he has remained steadfast on the front line, leading villagers in earthquake relief efforts. Around 8:00 AM, just as dawn broke, the reporter met Ciren Pingcuo busy at the resettlement site. In the earthquake, Ciren Pingcuo's house collapsed, and he quickly rescued his family from the rubble, but his mother unfortunately died. Ciren Pingcuo suppressed his inner grief and dedicated himself to search and rescue and other work in the village. In the past few days, Ciren Pingcuo has been working continuously, coordinating with various departments, transporting and distributing relief supplies, meticulously handling every detail. Now, various supplies have successively arrived in the village, and resettlement prefabricated houses are being built one after another. Ciren Pingcuo said that as long as everyone works together, they will overcome this difficulty and rebuild their homes soon.
At the series of press conferences on "Achievements in China's High-Quality Economic Development" held by the State Council Information Office yesterday (January 10), officials from the Ministry of Finance introduced that in 2025, China will implement a more proactive fiscal policy, deploying a "combination of policies" to promote sustained economic recovery and improvement. Officials from the Ministry of Finance stated that fiscal operations were generally stable in 2024, and budget implementation was favorable. In 2025, China will implement a more proactive fiscal policy. This includes increasing the fiscal deficit ratio and strengthening spending intensity. Policy space will be fully utilized to strengthen counter-cyclical adjustments. The expenditure structure will be vigorously optimized, with greater emphasis on benefiting people's livelihoods, boosting consumption, and enhancing long-term development potential. Support for stable employment will be increased, promoting consumption by boosting residents' incomes, improving the social security system, fostering new consumption industries, and improving consumption conditions. In 2025, China will arrange for a larger scale of government bonds: expanding the scale of ultra-long-term special government bonds, providing greater support for "two major" projects, and strengthening and expanding the implementation of "two new" policies. The quota for new local government special bonds will be increased, expanding the scope of investment areas and the use of funds as project capital, thereby driving effective investment. Within the new special bond quota issued in 2025, local governments can, as needed, coordinate the use of special bond projects for land reserves and the acquisition of existing commercial housing for affordable housing. Special government bonds will be issued to support state-owned large banks in supplementing core Tier 1 capital.
Reporters learned from the series of press conferences on "Achievements in China's High-Quality Economic Development" held by the State Council Information Office yesterday (January 10) that in 2024, the State Administration for Market Regulation promoted the orderly implementation of the subscribed capital registration system reform; it intensified supervision and law enforcement in areas such as enterprise fees, intellectual property rights, and trade secrets, effectively safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of business entities. In 2025, the State Administration for Market Regulation will continue to deepen fair competition governance in key areas, address concerns and demands of business entities with greater effort, and strive to improve regulatory and service efficiency.
World's Largest Clean Energy Corridor's 2024 Power Generation Exceeds Previous Year by Over 7%. China Three Gorges Corporation announced that the world's largest clean energy corridor, consisting of six cascaded hydropower stations on the Yangtze River—Wudongde, Baihetan, Xiluodu, Xiangjiaba, Three Gorges, and Gezhouba—generated approximately 295.904 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2024, an increase of 7.11% from the previous year. China's Highway Service Areas Essentially Achieve Full Coverage of Charging Facilities. The Ministry of Transport reported that as of the end of November 2024, a cumulative total of 33,100 charging piles and 49,300 charging parking spaces had been built in national highway service areas (including parking areas). The proportion of highway service areas with charging facilities has increased to 97%, achieving virtually full coverage except for a few high-altitude service areas. Shanghai Launches Stable Employment and Retention Warmth-Sending and Spring Employment Promotion Special Actions. Today (January 11), Shanghai launched stable employment and retention warmth-sending and spring employment promotion special actions. According to arrangements, by the end of February, Shanghai will hold over 300 various recruitment events, offering more than 100,000 job opportunities. Human resources and social security departments will also implement "one enterprise, one policy" customized services to meet enterprises' labor demands at the turn of the year. National Major Scientific and Technological Infrastructure Advanced Attosecond Laser Facility Commences Construction. The National Major Scientific and Technological Infrastructure Advanced Attosecond Laser Facility commenced construction on January 10. It is planned to spend five years building 10 ultrafast beamlines and 22 research terminals in Dongguan, Guangdong, and Xi'an, Shaanxi. An attosecond is the shortest time scale currently controllable by humans. Attosecond laser pulses are like "ultrafast cameras" that can track and measure electron movement, and are expected to bring about original breakthroughs in basic research and industrial technology fields. Dongying East Jin Yellow River Bridge in Shandong's Yellow River Delta Opens to Traffic. The Dongying East Jin Yellow River Bridge in Shandong's Yellow River Delta opened to traffic today (January 11). The bridge is over 1,600 meters long and has six lanes in both directions. Previously, residents in the surrounding area mainly relied on detours to upstream pontoon bridges to cross the Yellow River. After the bridge opened, the time to cross the Yellow River has been reduced from over 30 minutes to 2 minutes, making travel more convenient for residents.
On January 10, wildfires in the Los Angeles area of Southern California had been burning for four days, causing at least 11 deaths, destroying over 12,000 buildings, cutting power to nearly 170,000 users, and scorching an area exceeding 150 square kilometers, comparable to the size of Miami. An American meteorological company estimated that the wildfires could cause losses of 135 to 150 billion US dollars. In the worst-hit Pacific Palisades area, only 8% of the fires were contained as of January 10. Buildings on nearby Malibu Beach were severely damaged. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health stated on January 10 that the smoke and harmful particulate matter generated by the wildfires caused severe air pollution, posing a threat to residents' health, and a public health emergency was declared locally. Multiple incidents of looting and theft also occurred during the fires. The Los Angeles County police stated on January 10 that 20 suspects had been arrested, and it was decided to impose a curfew in the fire evacuation zones and dispatch the National Guard to maintain order. According to American media reports, some residents in the affected areas expressed dissatisfaction with the ineffective disaster relief efforts of the US federal and California governments, questioning why fire hydrants lacked water and fire trucks were not seen in some neighborhoods. The Los Angeles Fire Department chief stated on January 10 that the Los Angeles city government's cuts to the fire department's budget had affected its firefighting capabilities.
On January 10, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that over the past week, the Russian military carried out 28 cluster strikes using high-precision weapons and drones, destroying Ukrainian military airfield infrastructure, ammunition depots, and temporary deployment points for Ukrainian troops and foreign mercenaries. The Russian Ministry of Defense also stated that it continued to thwart Ukrainian military operations in the border areas of Russia's Kursk region. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated on the same day that 166 battles took place in the frontline areas, and the Ukrainian military launched high-precision strikes on a command post of a certain Russian military unit in the Donetsk region. On January 10, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization announced the launch of large-scale military exercises in Romania, Bulgaria, and other locations, involving over 10,000 soldiers from NATO member states. US and UK announce sanctions on Russian energy sector; Russia condemns sanctions as illegal. The United States and the United Kingdom announced sanctions on Russia's energy sector on January 10, targeting two large Russian oil and gas producers, including Gazprom and Surgutneftegas, and 183 oil tankers. Gazprom condemned the sanctions as "unfounded" and "illegal."
On January 10, Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed to have attacked the US aircraft carrier USS Truman in the Red Sea using cruise missiles and drones. On January 9, they also dispatched drones to attack targets in Tel Aviv, Israel. According to Houthi-operated media in Yemen, US-UK coalition forces launched airstrikes on January 10 against Amran province in northwestern Yemen and Ras Isa port in Hodeidah province, causing casualties. The Israel Defense Forces stated on January 10 that Israeli warplanes attacked military facilities and Ras Isa port in Hodeidah province, which is controlled by the Houthis.
On January 10, New York State Supreme Court Judge Merchan ruled that US President-elect Donald Trump was guilty of felonies in the "hush-money" case, but considering that Trump is about to assume the presidency, decided not to impose punishment and to免于imprisonment. Trump, appearing virtually in court that day, claimed his innocence and later stated that he would appeal the ruling. According to US media reports, this ruling means that Trump will become the first US president with a criminal record to enter the White House.
Iran Unveils Missile Base. On January 10, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran released a video of a missile base. IRGC Commander Salami stated that Iran's missile capabilities are improving and more missile bases will be built in the future. On the same day, the Basij volunteer force, affiliated with the IRGC, held exercises in Tehran, the capital, with approximately 110,000 participants. WMO Confirms 2024 as Hottest Year on Record. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced on January 10 that 2024 has been confirmed as the warmest year on record. Data shows that the global average temperature in 2024 was approximately 1.55 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average, making it the first year the global average temperature exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a statement expressing that individual years exceeding the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit does not signify a failure of the long-term goal, but global warming is already a harsh and difficult reality. According to the Paris Agreement, by the end of this century, the increase in the global average temperature should be kept well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and efforts should be made to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. South Korean Crashed Plane's Black Boxes Stopped Recording 4 Minutes Before Impact. According to information released today (January 11) by South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, after South Korean investigators and relevant US experts analyzed the two black boxes of the crashed Jeju Air passenger plane, it was found that both black boxes stopped recording 4 minutes before the plane crashed, resulting in a loss of some data. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated that they will continue to investigate this finding.
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