NO MORE SUBSIDIES 

China Economic Weekly

September 8, 2014

China's listed companies' net profit totaled 1.2 trillion yuan ($195.2 billion) in the first half of 2014, according to the semi-annual report released by the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges in August. The colossals like China National Petroleum Corp., Air China and Construction Bank of China generated the most profits.

However, China Economic Weekly noted that such impressive profit was not mainly from their business performances, but contributed largely by the government subsidies. According to Wind Information, a Shanghai-based financial data and information service provider, nearly 88 percent of the listed companies received such subsidies. While some maintained that it is alright to subsidize hi-tech businesses and financially support sectors that can help upgrade Chinese economy, Ma Jinghao, an economist with Yongyou, an enterprise management software service provider in Beijing, believes, "Too many financial supports to businesses with excess capacity and low efficiency will only waste public resources and do no good to fair competition in the capital market." Instead of subsidizing those companies, governments are being urged to create a fair business environment.

STANDING OUT

Oriental Outlook

September 15, 2014

Words like "cheap," "low quality" and "copy" are often used to describe products made in China. Chinese mobile phones also left people with such a stereotype. However, the truth is that the sale of smartphones made in China nowadays is surpassing that of world-renowned brands like Samsung and iPhone, gaining bigger and bigger market shares in both domestic and international markets.

Oriental Outlook in this issue looks at the rise of Chinese smartphones. One decade ago, China's domestic mobile phone market exploded, stimulated by encouraging policies and market demands. Over the 10 years, the progress made in technology and marketing greatly improved Chinese phone makers' innovation, research and development capacity, making them more competitive. In the era of 4G (the fourth generation communication system), competition is even fiercer. It offers an opportunity for domestic phone makers to surpass their major opponents as they no longer lag behind in technology. What they should do is to improve brand awareness to gain wider recognition among users.

TREATING AMMONIA EMISSION

Caixin New Century Weekly

September 8, 2014

Residents in Beijing are no stranger to the composition of particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5), like pollutants from exhaust emissions and coal burning. But another important source contributing to the high density of PM2.5, ammonia, is often neglected.

In 2006, China's total ammonia emission had already reached 9.8 million tons, and over the past two decades, China was the world's biggest ammonia emitter. Utilization of nitrogenous fertilizer and poultry-raising industries are the main sources of ammonia pollution. Deteriorating air quality is triggering serious health problems in China, leading to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Despite this, in the fight against environmental pollution, reducing the amount of ammonia in use is not yet on the agenda.

In August, the Ministry of Environmental Protection issued technical guidelines on ammonia emissions. Besides the government's efforts to treat ammonia released into the land and air, it also needs the involvement of the agricultural industry, farmers, fertilizer producers and others. Only through cooperation among all related parties can we arrest the formation and spread of the chemical.

REAL EDUCATION, NOT CONNECTION 

The Beijing News

September 16, 2014

The month of August witnessed many government officials quitting executive master of business administration (EMBA) classes in well-known business schools. This phenomenon is to a great extent the result of a ban in August, forbidding officials from attending expensive training programs.

It's difficult to know whether or not these programs helped improve government officials' administrative capabilities. However, it is certain that the program created more opportunities for them to meet businesspeople. The EMBA courses served as little more than incubators for corruption.

Government officials should be encouraged to continue their education, but there are other ways for them to learn. Why go specifically to expensive business schools?

Though a large number of officials have quit these business courses due to the ban, will the connection and trade between capital and power sever so easily? As long as there is a need for such deals between officials and businesspeople, the places for bringing them together, like the EMBA training courses, will never disappear. Only when officials' power is regulated by law, making them unable to abuse administrative power, can people expect EMBA classes to be real bastions of higher learning, instead of places that breed corruption.