China Makes Agriculture Top Priority

On February 1， the Chinese government issued its first work guideline of the year， generally known as the “No. 1” document， focusing on agricultural issues.

Compared with last year’s document， the 2015 edition emphasizes an intention to deepen reforms and innovation in agricultural development， exploring new agricultural growth through scaled production and optimization of industrial structures.

In order to achieve these targets， the document pro

poses to develop multiple and diverse production methods based on regional geography and conditions， establish a batch of prestige brands， and promote reform of land transfers to protect the rights and interests of farmers.

Given that the government has pledged to attain a “new normal state of economic development” prioritizing quality over quantity， the document also puts heavy importance on ecological protection， warning against the misuse of fertilizers and pesticides， as well as over-development of land and water resources.

According to media reports， china has made agricultural issues its top priority for the past 12 years. Analysts say that rising agricultural

costs have made it impossible for China to stimulate agricultural development with financial support alone， and that it would be more effective to further activate the market by introducing new technologies and promoting supporting industries and services related to agriculture.

People

Jack Ma No Longer China’s Richest

Hurun， China’s Equivalent of Forbes， issued its 2015 Global Rich List on February 4， indicating that Li Hejun， founder of leading solar photovoltaic supplier Hanergy Holding Group， has overtaken Alibaba founder Jack Ma to become China’s richest person.

According to Hurun’s data， Li possesses 160 billion yuan （US$25.4bn） in assets， moving him up 108 places from his 2014 Hurun ranking， and putting him at 28th worldwide.

The rapid growth in his wealth has been attributed to his engagement in thin film power， which analysts have identified as a significant growth sector due to China’s heavy emphasis on developing a green economy. According to Hurun， Hanergy， listed in Hong Kong， now holds stock valued at US$13 billion. The billionaire Li also owns a number of unlisted companies in the fields of hydropower and solar power.

With 155 billion yuan （US$24.6bn） in assets， Wang Jianlin， real estate and cultural industry impresario and owner of Wanda Group， placed second on Hurun’s China rich list， followed by Jack Ma， who owns 150 billion yuan （US$23.8bn） in assets thanks to Alibaba’s record-breaking listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

Society

Air Crash in Taiwan

43 out of 58 passengers and crew were killed when a TransAsia Airways aircraft crashed into a road bridge and became submerged in the Keelung？River in Taipei. 28 mainlanders were among those who lost their lives.

The tragedy happened at 10：54 AM， February 4， 2015， only three minutes after the plane took off from Taipei Songshan Airport for Kinmen. The aviation safety committee of Taiwan published records from the black box flight recorder on February 6， claiming that the plane had received two stall warnings due to the malfunction of both of its engines.

The second TransAsia Airways crash in seven months， the incident has been blamed on the airline’s poor safety measures. 29 TransAsia pilots were subsequently suspended from duty after failing or missing safety examinations， and the public has called for the airline to conduct a safety audit of its fleet.

Industry

China Issues 2014 Report on Internet Security

Beijing’s Renmin University of China， together with Internet giant Tencent， jointly released their 2014 report on Internet security in early February， warning against poor awareness of web security among Chinese netizens.

The report reveals that virus problems have continued to grow over the past three years due to the increased involvement of computers in daily life. In 2014 alone， Tencent’s Internet security lab discovered more than 135 million viruses active within China， 31.9 percent more than in 2013 and 49.4 percent more than 2012. Pop-up advertisements， password theft and“fast flux” attacks are the top three methods of invasion， according to the report.

Due to their fast development， cell phones are also a major target. In 2014， Tencent reported over one million virus packages targeting Android cell phones， 31.4 percent more than in 2013， and around 400 percent more than 2012. Besides viruses， junk mail and telemarketing calls have also become big headaches for smart phone users.

Business

Qualcomm Fined for Monopoly

China’s 14-month monopoly investigation into American semiconductor company Qualcomm has concluded， with the latter being fined 6.1 billion yuan （US$975m） and promising to alter its patent fees targeting Chinese producers.

The investigation began in November 2013 when the National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC）， which oversees pricing in China， accused Qualcomm of misusing standard essential patents and charging excessive patent fees.

Holding a large number of telecommunication patents， Qualcomm has established a controversial model for patent charges， whereby it collects fees based on the price of the entire device in which its patented parts are used C a cell phone， for example C rather than the cost of the patented parts themselves， and includes the price of its widely-used microchips in the charge.

According to the new agreement signed between Qualcomm and theNDRC， Qualcomm will reduce the base of its patent charge to 65 percent of the price of a cell phone sold in the Chinese market and remove the additional conditions from the sales of its chips， which are reportedly used by over 100 cell phone producers in China.

Both Qualcomm and its investors， however， welcomed the result of the anti-trust investigation， believing it will stabilize Qualcomm’s development in China， the world’s biggest market.

Economy

GDP Weakened in China

By February 4， 31 cities and regions in China had published their annual GDP figures for 2014， amounting to a total of 68.4 trillion yuan （US$10.8tn）， about 4.8 trillion yuan （US$758.9bn） more than the national figure delivered by China’s National Bureau of Statistics （NBS）.

Due to local governments’ historical preoccupation with GDP growth， China has long seen a gap between the national GDP figure and its regional sum. In 2014， however， this gap shrunk for the first time in six years.

Analysts have attributed the closing of this gap to the government’s proposal for a “new normal economic state，” where the speed of economic growth is secondary to its stability. Based on the government’s latest regulation on performance assessment criteria for officials， published at the end of 2014， many local governments have reduced the weighting of the GDP growth criterion in measuring economic development， with Shanghai even canceling the index.