Tobacco lobby holding back smoking ban

On Wednesday, Shanghai becomes the latest municipality in China, following Beijing and Shenzhen, to launch a 100 percent smoke-free policy in public places and work spaces. Some 60 million people - more than the population of many countries - living in these cities can now enjoy smoke-free public places.

Fall in forex reserves not a cause for concern

In January China's foreign exchange reserves dropped to $2.9982 trillion, the first decline below $3 trillion in the past five years. According to People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, the main reason for the decline is the release of foreign exchange funds to help maintain the balance between supply and demand. In addition, Chinese residents' travel and consumption overseas, as well as enterprises' debt repayment and settlement also increased during Spring Festival, which is the seasonal cause of the decline in the foreign exchange reserves.

New way of tackling poverty is precisely what China needs

While growing up in a village at the foothills of a mountain in Southwest China's Sichuan province I would stare at a truck or a bus when it passed by on the only bumpy road that led to the outside world. I always dreamt of planes flying overhead every day, but in those days one was lucky to see even one in a month. Those were the days when the villagers used oil to light their lamps and lanterns, because there was no electricity. The village was connected to a power grid just before I enrolled in a university in the early 1990s.

China, Singapore signal ties are on the up again

Co-chaired by Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli and Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, the meeting of the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation held in Beijing on Monday signaled that bilateral ties have returned to normal after the frictions between the two countries last year.

Anti-poverty battle still tough

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, stressed the importance of lifting the rural impoverished population out of poverty and accomplishing the poverty alleviation targets on schedule.

Investments that officials attract should not sway their evaluations

THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN HANDAN, North China's Hebei province, recently said it suffered heavy losses in a 2008 project with expected investment from a South Korean company that called itself Hyundai Construction Group, which later turned out not to be part of the Hyundai Group as the government believed. Beijing News comments:

Truck test cheats worsen air pollution

SOME DRIVERS IN TANGSHAN, a city in North China's Hebei province, including drivers of heavy trucks, reportedly paid local "test brokers" so their vehicles passed the compulsory annual tests for all road vehicles without actually taking them. Beijing News commented on Monday:

Live streaming sites must cap viewers' tips

A WOMAN IN HANGZHOU, East China's Zhejiang province, recently found her husband stole 30,000 yuan ($4,361) from her Alipay account and 10,000 yuan from her bank account to pay gratuity to live streaming website hosts. Beijing Youth Daily commented on Monday:

Cartoon

United States will not win a trade conflict

China exports more to the United States than the US exports to China. This fact infuriated US President Donald Trump so much that during his campaign trail he threatened to take tough protectionist measures against China. As Trump attempts to consolidate his presidency, he is unlikely to back away from that threat. And with the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China later this year, Chinese leaders are unlikely to yield to US pressure.

Basketball reform needs Yao's magic hand

'Chinese basketball has no so-called biggest problem, but problems everywhere," Yao Ming said after being elected chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association on Thursday. Although many are excited with Yao's election and hope that he will revitalize basketball in China, the former NBA star appeared calm at Thursday's ceremony.

DPP can't endorse separatist campaign with falsity

With the 70th anniversary of the "Feb 28 Incident" in Taiwan around the corner, the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League, one of the eight non-communist parties on the Chinese mainland, held a seminar in Beijing on Thursday where participants emphasized the need to clarify and commemorate what happened on that day seven decades ago.