NEW CHINA MOBILE CHAIRMAN

Yang Jie was appointed chairman of China Mobile Communications Group Co. Ltd.， the worlds largest telecom carrier by mobile subscribers， on March 4.

Yang had served as chairman of China Telecommunications Corp.， the countrys third largest telecom carrier by mobile subscribers， since April 2016. Born in 1962， Yang received his bachelors degree in radio engineering from the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications in 1984. He also holds a masters degree from the BI Norwegian Business School. He became vice general manager of China Telecommunications Corp in 2006 and general manager in 2011.

China Mobiles operating revenues for the first three quarters of 2018 dipped 0.3 percent year on year to 567.7 billion yuan （$81.8 billion）， the companys fi rst decline in nearly four years.

As of the end of September 2018， China Mobile had around 916 million mobile users.

Information Plus

Peoples Daily March 1

Information Plus—integration of information technology （IT） with traditional industries—has led to technological breakthroughs and transformations， promoting social and economic progress globally.

Information Plus can help improve the quality and effi ciency of growth. Historically， many countries economic boom stemmed from technological revolutions. The industrial revolutions in the 18th and 19th centuries enabled Britain to become the most developed country in the world at that time. The United States caught up during the next technological revolution， with the IT revolution consolidating its lead in the global economy.

For China， Information Plus can not only transform traditional industries but also resolve many major problems hindering economic growth， narrow the large gap in development between east and west China， and create more convenient public services in education and healthcare.

Information Plus can strengthen connections and interdependence between countries， contributing to building a community with a shared future for humanity.

It has presented China with new opportunities， which should be seized to turn Information Plus into the new growth driver.

Cultural Consumption

Oriental Outlook March 7

Cultural consumption， which includes buying books， watching performances and visiting exhibitions， has become an important means to promote economic growth and urban development.

To boost cultural consumption， in 2016 the Ministry of Culture published a list of 26 cities that would pilot cultural consumption， followed by another 19 in 2017.

Over the past two years， these city governments have increased financial support for cultural enterprises and projects to increase supply of cultural products. They have also provided subsidies for local residents to buy cultural products and services.

Many pilot cities have developed tourism attractions featuring traditional or local culture. For instance， some are hosting cultural festivals to spread their culture and promote tourism.

Many cities have launched e-commerce platforms for cultural and creative products as well as public accounts on WeChat， the most popular messaging app in China， to provide information on cultural events.

New technologies such as mobile Internet， big data and artificial intel-ligence have also upgraded the cultural consumption experience. For instance， Hangzhou in east Chinas Zhejiang Province， where the headquarters of Alibaba is located， has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Internet giant to launch new forms of cultural consumption such as unmanned bookstores. This has improved the quality and variety of cultural products， transformed cultural industries and upgraded cultural consumption.

Support for Farmers

Beijing Youth Daily March 3

Farmers will get more support and be encouraged to switch to modern agriculture， according to a guideline published by the general offi ces of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on February 21.

Small farming， which has many advantages， can play an important role in agriculture modernization.

As small farmers are self-employed and their profi ts closely tied to the amount of time and labor they devote to farming， they work hard for a better harvest. On the other hand， its difficult for agricultural companies to manage their employees as agriculture is a long and natural process that is hard to supervise in its entirety.

In small farming， farmers can fully utilize their time in busy and slack seasons. Moreover， the output effi ciency of land under small farming is higher than that under largescale farming. Greater labor is devoted to per unit of land in small farming to get the maximum output from limited land. Large-scale farming often comes at the expense of the output per unit of land. Besides， small farming can grow diversifi ed agricultural products. Different farmers may grow different crops， which helps to preserve biodiversity and protect the environment.

In addition to policy support， private capital should be encouraged to go to rural areas to assist small farmers to switch to modern agriculture.

LUNAR EXPLORATION PROGRAM DESIGNER

Wu Weiren， chief designer of Chinas lunar exploration program， said on March 3 that China will launch its fi rst Mars probe next year.

A member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference， Wu said prior to the opening of the countrys top political advisory bodys second session that it is Chinas consistent policy to undertake its space program only for scientifi c and technological progress， and to exploit space resources for peaceful purposes.

Born in southwest Chinas Sichuan Province in 1953， Wu received a bachelors degree from the University of Science and Technology of China in 1978 and a PhD from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in 2004. He has served as chief designer of Chinas lunar exploration program at the State Administration of Science， Technology and Industry for National Defense since 2008 and was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2015.

“China-Russia cooperation in the spheres of trade and economy， energy， scientific and technical innovation， finance and investment， as well as agriculture and infrastructure construction is moving along a ‘high-speed highway.”

Chinese Ambassador to Russia Li Hui told Russian daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta （Independent Newspaper） on March 4

“The Belt and Road Initiative is most essential to Africa and its development… Africa has a unique opportunity to key into the international system through this initiative.”

Charles Onunaiju， Director of the Center for China Studies in Nigeria， in a recent interview with Xinhua News Agency in Abuja

“A lot of trading we do is with China. We export more to China than to any other country… My hope is that the two countries de-escalate tensions and work together for the benefit of everybody.”

Paul Aucoin， Executive Director of the Port of South Louisiana， the largest tonnage port in the United States， commenting on China-U.S. trade

“China moved from supplying the world with low-value goods 20 years ago to providing high-value goods， service and technology both in China and to other parts of the world… China is doing the right thing in transforming its economy into a greener， innovative and sustainable one.”

Chris Riebold， President of ParianBlack， a consulting fi rm based in Austin， Texas