Scientists use a device to conduct sea temperature and salinity tests in the South China Sea on April 26, the beginning of the second stage of China's 38th ocean science expedition. China's manned submersible Jiaolong with her crew of scientists arrived at the location aboard the mother ship Xiangyanghong 09 on April 26. Liu Shiping / Xinhua

Commercial space center to take off

Construction began on April 24 on China's first commercial space industry center in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province. The Wuhan National Space Industry Base aims to attract at least 100 enterprises involved in the space industry before 2020 and generate 30 billion yuan ($4.36 billion; 4 billion euros; ￡3.4 billion) in annual gross product by then, according to China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, the main investor. The center will occupy 68.8 square kilometers in Xinzhou district. Expace Technology, a subsidiary of CASIC that provides commercial launch services, will invest 1.7 billion yuan to build production and assembly plants for solid-fuel carrier rockets for commercial launches. The company plans to make about 20 rockets at the center each year, it said in a statement.

Public input helped shape govt policies

The Government Work Report for 2017 drew upon the wisdom of the public offered in more than 2,000 suggestions selected from hundreds of thousands of messages submitted in an annual online poll. The poll, called Share Your Thoughts With Premier Li (Keqiang), was conducted from Dec 20 to March 16 through the State Council's website and 28 other websites. It was the third time that such a poll had been carried out. Netizens left more than 400,000 messages as part of the poll, exceeding the numbers left in the two previous polls, conducted in 2015 and January 2016, according to an analysis report released by the State Council website's operational center.

Chinese Film Festival starts in Hungary

Moviegoers in Hungary have been watching five Chinese films starring renowned actors this week during the 2017 Chinese Film Festival, which kicked off in Budapest on April 23. Jackie Chan, the Hong Kong action movie star, brought his latest film to the festival, which ran through April 27. The film, the comedic adventure Kung-Fu Yoga, is a Chinese-Indian co-production. Chan, a festival ambassador, says the five films featured are among the best titles from China. The other movies are the dramas Operation Mekong, Mountains May Depart, Xuan Zang and the romance film Book of Love. Chan met fans before the launch ceremony and sang a song with students from the Sino-Hungarian School in Budapest.

Ex-official of Ministry of Civil Affairs demoted

Chen Chuanshu, 63, a former senior official of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, has been demoted, China's top anti-graft authority says. Chen, former director of the China National Committee on Aging, was demoted to a nonleading position in the ministry, according to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, for alleged dereliction of duty as the leading official of units affiliated with the ministry.

Eight punished for industrial waste

Eight officials have been punished for not effectively controlling massive amounts of industrial waste dumped into storage ponds in Langfang. Three officials, including a county-level official who used to be in charge of environmental protection in Dacheng county, were given disciplinary warnings. The deputy governor of the county and four other officials were also criticized.

Mapping survey results will be shared, promoted

The Chinese government will actively seek to share, promote and apply its first set of national mapping information data through institutions and companies to better serve the public, according to Kurex Mexsut, deputy head of the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation. He said the administration will establish a data-sharing mechanism and an information services platform to maximize the openness and use of its data. Meanwhile, it will actively cooperate with different departments to provide public data products and customized data services to companies and institutions.

Further ecological oversight launched

China launched another round of monthlong environmental inspections in seven provincial regions on April 24 to push the provincial and city governments to reduce pollution, according to the nation's top environmental authority. National inspection teams have begun work in Fujian and Hunan provinces, and will soon move to Tianjin municipality and the provinces of Shanxi, Liaoning, Anhui and Guizhou, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said. The ministry also submitted two reports on environmental protection results from 2016 to the National People's Congress Standing Committee. The reports said central-level inspections-regarded as a powerful tool to monitor provincial governments in environmental protection-had been completed in 16 provincial regions, including Beijing and Shanghai.

Domestic airliner in final tests

The C919, the much-anticipated first commercial aircraft for passengers to be made in China, has taken another step closer to its maiden flight by completing its fourth high-speed taxiing test on April 23 in Shanghai. It was the C919's first test with the front landing gear of the plane slightly lifted to simulate takeoff. The C919 received a flight permit from the Civil Aviation Administration of China on April 22. It has acquired all the necessary certificates to prepare for its first flight.

Ex-captive panda may be pregnant

Monitoring data show that Cao Cao, a 16-year-old giant panda raised in captivity, has mated with a male in the wild-a rare occurrence for the endangered species-according to a panda research center in Sichuan province. Cao Cao was released in the Liziping Nature Reserve in early February in time formating season from March to May.

First Chinese-made carrier launched

China has moved closer to its goal of operating domestically made aircraft carriers, as it officially launched its first on April 26 in Dalian, Liaoning province. The ship is the largest and most sophisticated surface vessel China has ever built. The carrier was towed from its dry dock and then moored at an outfitting berth, according to a news release published by the military after the ceremony. The new carrier was designed in China, and construction began in November 2013.Work in the dry dock started in March 2015, and, when launched, the carrier's propulsion and power systems had already been installed, the military said. In the next phase, the carrier will start the outfitting process, and engineers will test and fine-tune equipment already installed on the ship, the news release said. During the outfitting stage, engineers and workers will complete installation of the ship's interior equipment and systems as well as its weaponry. Additionally, mooring trials will be conducted to verify the carrier's overall design and equipment, it added.

Hungarian version of Xi's book wins praise

The Hungarian-language version of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China made its debut in Budapest on April 24, with leading Hungarian officials saying President Xi's thoughts, proposals and visions in the book are useful to better govern their country. Liu Qibao, head of the publicity department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, who also is traveling to launch the book in Morocco and Greece, unveiled the Hungarian version with Marta Matrai, first officer of the Hungarian National Assembly. Before the book launch, Liu met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is among the 28 state leaders who have confirmed they will attend the Belt and Road Initiative Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on May 14 and May 15.

China, South Africa relations advance

Vice-Premier Liu Yandong's wide-ranging visit to South Africa made concrete progress in cooperation between the nations. She also helped strengthen their friendship, such as in her meeting with Goodwill Zwelithini, king of South Africa's Zulu nation, in Pretoria. Liu visited Zwelithini at Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria, where he was getting a checkup. Zwelithini said he anticipates further development of the friendship, adding that he will visit China soon to further experience the nation's charm and achievements.

Greater efforts urged to fight H7N9 flu

China has worked hard to prevent and control the spread of the H7N9 influenza virus, which this past winter registered its largest outbreak since first being reported in China in 2013.However, greater efforts are needed against the contagious disease, said Monique Eloit, director-general of the World Orgasization for Animal Health. China recorded 192 human H7N9 cases, including 79 deaths, in January. In January 2016, there were 28 cases, including five deaths, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission, China's top health authority. The number of cases fell to 160 in February and 96 in March. Experts from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said the disease, which peaks in winter, was expected to drop off in late April.

Province reports three bird flu cases

Gansu province has reported three H7N9 bird flu cases, its first human infections this year, authorities said on April 26. On April 7, the city of Jiuquan reported Gansu's first human H7N9 infection. The patient has recovered and has been discharged from the hospital, according to the provincial government. Two other cases were reported in April in Jiuquan and Zhangye. Two women were receiving treatment at hospitals, with one in a serious condition, the government said.

Vending machines sell HIV self-testing kits

As HIV/AIDS begins to affect more young Chinese, the nation's health and education authorities are teaming up to install vending machines with HIV self-testing kits on university campuses to help raise awareness and fight the disease, officials said. Ten Chinese universities in Beijing, the provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Heilongjiang, and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region have joined the initiative.

Deep-sea probe begins its mission

Chinese scientists have embarked on a deep-sea mission in the South China Sea, the beginning of the second stage of China's 38th oceanic expedition. China's manned submersible Jiaolong with a crew of scientists arrived at the location on on April 25. The submersible was expected to make its first South China Sea dive of the year on April 26, if weather conditions allowed, according to Wu Changbin, general commander of the second stage of the expedition. The mission will last until May 13.

Airline to resume Pyongyang flights

Air China will resume its flights linking Beijing and Pyongyang starting on May 5, it said on April 25. There will be two flights from Beijing to Pyongyang each week, on Mondays and Fridays. The airline temporarily suspended the flights on April 17, citing weak sales.

Peng says education for girls is important

Peng Liyuan, the wife of President Xi Jinping, said the education of girls and women is a "noble and significant" pursuit. Providing women and men with the same opportunities to reach their full potential is a key to promoting social development, gender equality and sustainable development of society, to which education plays a crucial role, Peng said. Peng made the remarks during an exclusive interview with the UNESCO Courier magazine. She was invited in 2014 to become the UNESCO special envoy for the advancement of girls' and women's education by Irina Bokova, the organization's director-general.

Processing of patents speeds up

China's intellectual property authority is making an effort to shorten the review time for patent applications, said Shen Changyu, head of the State Intellectual Property Office, during a State Council news briefing. The office aims to provide efficient review services to applicants, Shen said. Reviews on average took at least 25 months between 2006 and 2010. That was reduced to at least 22 months between 2011 and 2015, and then to no more than 22 months in 2016. To shorten review time, the Chinese patent office has taken steps including increasing the number of patent reviewers.