Policy Digest

Plan rolled out to ensure smooth, safe holiday rush

The Ministry of Transport and seven other departments have issued a plan for regions across the country to ensure a smooth and safe Spring Festival travel rush.

Starting on Jan 26, this year's Spring Festival travel rush will last 40 days and is expected to see a record number of cross-regional trips, according to the plan.

Regions including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei province, the Yangtze River Delta and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will see a relatively large number of travelers, and highways will be besieged by motorists, it said. In addition, there will likely be rain, snow and freezing weather for travelers to deal with during the rush.

The plan requires local authorities to strengthen the monitoring of travel flows, schedule more flights and train trips to meet travelers' demands and improve their emergency response capabilities.

It also lays out specific measures to improve travelers' experiences and ensure the smooth transport of goods and energy supplies.

Livestreams encouraged to promote recruitment

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has issued a notice asking local human resources authorities to introduce more jobs to the public via livestreams.

The notice asks authorities to establish livestream hubs to meet the needs of both jobseekers and companies and encourages them to work with entities such as universities, industrial parks and companies to help facilitate employment.

They should also work to better align jobseekers' needs with those of the prospective employers through livestreams, according to the notice. It added that livestreaming could also be used to provide other services in the future, such as policy consultations and career counseling.

Universities urged to open new health-related majors

The Ministry of Education has urged universities to establish five new majors to better support the development of the country's health sector.

The five majors are health equipment engineering, geriatrics and health, health and medical insurance, pharmaceutical economics and management, and biomedical data science, the ministry said in a notice.

The majors were designed to help universities speed up the development of interdisciplinary talent urgently needed by the country and its people, according to the ministry.

Technological advances boost automobile exports

China exported about 5.22 million automobiles last year, a 57.4 percent year-on-year increase, said an official of the General Administration of Customs.

In recent years, China's automobile industry has been carrying out technological innovations and working to construct a sound supply chain. As a result, the country has seen sales of automobiles increase, said Lyu Daliang, spokesman of the administration.

Electric passenger vehicles account for one-third of China's exports of automobiles, Lyu said, adding that the export of such vehicles increased by 67.1 percent to more than 1.77 million last year.