Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook Inc, talks with Jack Ma, chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, at the China Development Forum in Beijing on March 19. Feng Yongbin / China Daily

African bank to work with China Exim Bank

Preferential Trade Area Bank is to work with China Export-Import Bank to finance infrastructure projects in Africa, according to its president, Admassu Tadesse. He said China Exim Bank would provide about 80 percent of the financing in any given project, while his bank will supply the remainder. The African bank is looking to join with other Chinese institutions, he added.

Liberia lauds Confucius Institute donations

The Liberian government has commended the Confucius Institute at the University of Liberia for donating educational, medical, sports and nutritional supplies to children at Lolognta Childhood Development Center in Sinkor, Monrovia. The donation is a manifestation of the friendship between China and Liberia, Sylvester M. Grigsby, minister special duties, said at a ceremony on March 18.

380b francs donated for Senegal projects

China has donated more than 380 billion CFA francs ($645,000) to public investment programs in Senegal, Amadou Ba, the country's economy and finance minister, said. He was speaking during the signing of a loan agreement for 20 billion CFA francs between China Export-Import Bank and Senegal to pay for firefighting materials and equipment.

Relations resumed with Gambia

Beijing has resumed diplomatic ties with Gambia after Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his visiting Gambian counterpart Neneh Macdouall-Gaye signed a joint statement on March 17. Beijing formed diplomatic ties with Gambia in 1974. However, the West African nation cut these ties in 1995 and shifted to Taipei. It eventually cut "diplomatic" relations with Taiwan in 2013. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the resumption of ties is "not targeted at any other side".

Exports fall steeplyin February

China's exports in dollar-denominated terms were more than 25 percent lower year-on-year in February, a worsening of the 11.2 percent decline in January and the sharpest drop since May 2009, the General Administration of Customs said. Weak trading activities in the first two months of the year were affected by the Spring Festival holiday, which disrupted trade performance, according to the Ministry of Commerce. It said declines will ease after the first quarter, but conditions will remain severe and complex this year.

Standard for national lab animals on the way

China could adopt its first national standard on laboratory animal welfare and ethics this year. A draft, which includes requirements for the production, transportation and use of lab animals, including qualifications for personnel, facilities and the use of animals in testing, was available for public opinion until March 20. The standard would mark a legislative breakthrough in the protection of animals used in research and testing by pharmaceutical and other industries.

Young divers compete for top honors

The National Youth Diving Championships were held in Chongqing between March 18 and March 24. The event, which serves as the qualifying round for the national championships, attracted more than 260 competitors from 19 teams in 15 events, including the men's and women's 1-meter springboard, 3-meter springboard, and 10-meter platform categories.

More funding expected for space research

The government will invest at least 5.9 billion yuan ($912 million; 809 million euros) on space science research during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), according to a report by scientists with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It is estimated that China's overall research and development funding will grow 2.5 percent a year over that period.

2,209 pacts of friendship signed

A total of 2,209 friendship agreements have been signed between Chinese provinces and cities and overseas counterparts, according to a report on March 17. China has the most sister cities in Japan (249), followed by 244 in the United States.

Lancang-Mekong country leaders meet

The first Lancang-Mekong Cooperation meeting of leaders began on March 23. Focusing on the theme "Shared River, Shared Future", leaders from China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam will exchange views on promoting the cooperation framework, strengthening all-around cooperation and advancing regional integration. Key areas of the cooperation have included improving connectivity, industrial capacity cooperation and agriculture, deepening cross-border economic cooperation, making proper use of water resources, and reducing poverty.

Air quality better in most cities

Some 338 cities had good air quality on more than 72 percent of days in February, 10 percentage points higher than the same period last year, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said. Beijing saw a 53.2 percent year-on-year reduction in concentration of tiny, dangerous PM2.5 particles.

Huawei enlists Messi to reach global goals

Chinese telecom-munications company Huawei Technologies Co has signed Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi as a global ambassador to promote its consumer electronics and corporation. Messi had endorsed Samsung Electronics Co's smartphones in recent years.

Panda center gets IOC donation

A giant panda breeding center received a donation of $50,000 from the International Olympic Committee on March 22. Yu Zaiqing, vice-president of the IOC, attended the donation ceremony.

Prosecutors beef up protection measures

More than 1,500 people received criminal sentences for causing environmental damage last year after intervention by the prosecution authorities. Procuratorate departments were put in charge of reviewing the law-enforcement work of government agencies and other official bodies on Jan 1 last year as part of revisions to the Environmental Protection Law.

Ip Man 3 screen data inflated

The China Film Distribution Association has suspended a distributor it says fraudulently jacked up box-office figures for martial arts film Ip Man 3. Moviegoers and industry observers questioned the authenticity of the box-office numbers after the film reportedly raked in over 500 million yuan ($77.2 million; 68.5 million euros) in just four days. Max Screen, the distributor, bought 56 million yuan worth of tickets and fabricated more than 7,600 screenings, which it claimed generated 32 million yuan in ticket sales, according to the association.

Fraudulent vaccine wholesalers named

China's drug regulator has identified nine vaccine wholesalers suspected of filing fraudulent reports of buyers' identities. The China Food and Drug Administration gave local authorities until March 18 to find out who the real buyers of the vaccines were. It said it will make the results public later. The wholesalers, based in six provinces, came to light as police attempted to trace vaccines worth more than 570 million yuan ($88 million; 78 million euros) that were allegedly sold illegally since 2011.

Students get into the swing for spring

The Experimental School of Foreign Languages Affiliated with East China Normal University has become the first public elementary school in China to introduce golf as a compulsory course. All first- and second-grade students, about 400 in total, are required to practice golf once a week. No extra tuition fees are being charged.

Apple tops gift brands of the wealthy

Apple Inc has topped a list of the most popular gift brands among wealthy Chinese men, followed by Louis Vuitton and Gucci, according to a luxury consumption survey by Hurun Research Institute. The survey covered more than 450 millionaires with a personal wealth of at least 10 million yuan ($1.5 million; 1.3 million euros).

Work starts on space project

Ground infrastructure construction on China's gravitational wave research project, Tianqin, began on March 20 in Zhuhai, Guangdong province. At an estimated cost of up to 20 billion yuan ($3.09 billion; 2.74 billion euros), the project plans four steps over the next two decades to launch three satellites into high Earth orbit and detect gravitational waves. The first step includes the construction of a research building, an ultra-quiet cave laboratory and an observation station in Zhuhai.

Survey: Forests are in recovery

China's forests are recovering after decades of destruction from illegal logging and conversion to farmland, according to a study by Michigan State University. The study, published in the US journal Science Advances, showed that about 1.6 percent, or 157,300 square kilometers, of Chinese territory saw a significant gain in tree coverage from 2000 to 2010.

Mission to Mars on horizon for scientists

China is preparing to launch a Mars probe in 2020 that will arrive on the red planet in 2021, aerospace expert Ye Peijian said. The probe will include an orbiter, a lander and a rover. The orbiter will conduct global surveys of Mars and the entry device will land a rover on the surface.

Import ban on ivory expanded

China has taken a further step to fight the legal ivory trade by banning imports of ivory and carved-ivory items acquired before July 1, 1975, when the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora took effect. The ban, which took effect on March 20, will last until Dec 31, 2019, the State Forestry Administration, China's wildlife watchdog, announced on March 22.

Emotions contribute most to sleep troubles

Negative emotions are a major obstacle to quality sleep for people in China, according to the China Sleep Quality Index 2016, which was conducted by consultancy Dataway and mattress producer Sleemon. It also showed people living in small cities generally enjoy better sleep. The research was based on feedback between January and March to online questionnaires.

Moves aim to stop groundwater loss

China will establish a national groundwater monitoring system over the next five years to prevent excessive exploitation, according to the Ministry of Water Resources. The system will include more than 20,000 monitoring stations. The move is aimed at countering the overuse of groundwater that is now rife in more than 300,000 square kilometers of Chinese territory.

Real estate costs made deductible

Four business sectors - construction, real estate, finance, and consumer services - will be included in a reform of business tax to value-added tax from May 1. The extension of the tax-to-VAT is aimed to reduce companies' tax burdens and support the development of modern service and manufacturing industries, according to a government statement on March 18. The price of new real estate purchases may be included in companies' cost of production for tax exemption.

Photo software to rebuild ancient city

Architectural conservationists at Shanghai Jiao Tong University will use old photos and modern technology to create a 3-D digital replica of Liantang town. The old town, in Qingpu district, a historic area of Shanghai, dates back as far as the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). However, over the years, a large part has disappeared.

Five yellow fever cases detected

China has reported five yellow fever cases - all from people who were not vaccinated before leaving for areas with epidemics, a senior public health specialist said. The infected Chinese workers were returning from Angola and were detected in Beijing and Shanghai, where they had connecting flights to their hometowns.

Tiangong-1 ends data service

After an operational orbit of 1,630 days, China's first space lab, Tiangong-1, terminated its data service, the manned space engineering office said. The functions of the space laboratory and target orbiter have been disabled after an extended service period of about two and a half years, although it remains in its designed orbit, the office said. Tiangong-1 was launched in September 2011 with a design life of two years.

China Daily-Xinhua