Fishing Season

Fishermen haul nets in Bostan Lake in Bohu County， northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region， on June 22， marking the start of the fi shing season after a three month moratorium.

China-Japan Ties

Chinese President Xi Jinping encouraged young people in China and Japan to make contributions to a bright future of bilateral relations in a reply letter to a Japanese youth ahead of his trip to Japan for the G20 Summit in Osaka held on June 28-29.

Daichi Nakashima， a prizewinner in the Panda Cup Japan Youth Essay Contest， extended his greetings and best wishes to the Chinese president， and expressed his willingness to devote himself to the cause of China-Japan friendship.

Xi， in his reply， said he is glad to see that Nakashima has been studying the Chinese language and literature for a long time and， by participating in essay contests and exchange activities in China， has learned more about China and strengthened his bonds with his Chinese friends.

Noting that China and Japan are close neighbors separated by only a narrow strip of water， he said the friendship between the two countries is rooted in the people， and that the future of the friendship between the two peoples is in the hands of the young people.

Xi said he hopes that the youth of China and Japan will strengthen exchanges and mutual learning， enhance mutual understanding， develop long-lasting friendships， and contribute to creating an even brighter future for bilateral relations.

He also encouraged Nakashima to continue to promote China-Japan friendship.

Nakashima， who studied the Chinese language and literature in college， has， on multiple occasions， participated in China-related essay contests and visited China.

Pollution Screening

Week-long inspections on pollution emissions into the Bohai Sea were launched in four coastal cities on June 24， according to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

The inspections will cover the coastline of about 1，700 km in Tangshan， Tianjin， Dalian and Yantai. A total of 260 work teams of 780 people were sent to the four cities to screen for potential outfalls including culverts， ditches and pipelines through satellite remote sensors， unmanned aerial vehicles and on-spot checks.

The ministry will conduct similar reviews in nine other cities later this year to prepare for future monitor- ing， source tracing and treatment.

The Bohai Sea is Chinas only semi-closed inland sea， which faces grim ecological pressure despite local environmental protection efforts.

Meth Seized

Police in southwest Chinas Yunnan Province have captured two suspects traffi cking methamphetamine and seized 110.42 kg of the drug.

The border control detachment in the city of Puer uncovered the smuggling when they inspected two banana trucks. They seized 166 packages of methamphetamine. Further investigation is underway.

Since the beginning of the year， local authorities in the ChinaMyanmar border city have set up a 24-hour drug inspection network， stepping up checks on major road accesses and effectively curbing the inbound traffi cking of drugs.

Yunnan is a major front in Chinas battle against drug crime since it borders an area in other countries known for rampant drug production and traffi cking.

Air Quality

Air quality improved in Chinese cities in the fi rst fi ve months of 2019， according to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment （MEE）.

Some 337 Chinese cities enjoyed good air quality on 80.3 percent of days from January to May， up 0.6 percentage points from the same period last year. Nearly 120 cities met air quality standards， including 20 cities joining for the fi rst time this year， MEE data showed.

The average PM2.5 density， a key indicator of air pollution， remained unchanged at 44 micrograms per cubic meter over the period and the average density of PM10 and sulfur dioxide fell 2.6 percent and 13.3 percent， respectively， year on year.

Haikou， Lhasa and Shenzhen ranked in the top three on a list of 168 cities air quality， while cities in the provinces of Hebei， Henan and Shanxi lagged behind.

Several regions saw a decrease in PM2.5 in May 2019， with the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Yangtze River Delta down 16.7 percent and 8.6 percent， respectively， year on year.

China pledged to coordinate its efforts on environmental protection and economic development in 2019.

The country vowed to reduce imports of solid waste and push for better air quality with better regional coordination and heavy-polluter revamps， according to the ministry.

Summer Breeze

A woman cleans a tent at an ecological ranch in Sujiwan Village of Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture， northwest Chinas Qinghai Province， on June 20. The plateau climate helps attract tourists to the ranches during the summer when the weather here is very pleasurable.