Premier Li Keqiang, visiting New Zealand, said he expects that China will work more closely with the island nation on innovation and exploring third-party markets for joint prosperity. Those were among the many ways the two nations plan to ramp up cooperation, as seen in 20 agreements that had been signed as of March 28. Li returned to Beijing on March 29. At a banquet on March 28 in Auckland, New Zealand's biggest city, the premier said he was happy to make his third visit - the first since a 2009 trip when he was vice-premier - and he invited New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English to visit China.

China answers call for relics 'safe havens'

China's national body overseeing protection of historical heritage has vowed to respond to the call for establishing "safe havens" for cultural properties from regions in conflict. National-level museums and conservation institutions are encouraged to support international actions protecting these artifacts, according to Liu Yuzhu, director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, who spoke at a seminar in Beijing. Liu also encouraged Chinese enterprises to donate more to international foundations involved in protecting cultural heritage. China will expand its cultural heritage conservation efforts beyond the nation's borders and thus better serve China's overall diplomacy, he said.

Concerns voiced over missile defense systems

The expansion by the United States of its global missile defense system will damage strategic balance and potentially spark a new arms race, Chinese and Russian representatives to a disarmament conference in Geneva said at a joint briefing on March 28. Major General Zhang Jian, head of the Combat Bureau of the Joint Staff Department of China's Central Military Commission, said China and Russia would take further measures to protect their national security interests and the regional strategic balance.

Greener Beijing mapped out by 2030

A draft plan outlining a greener Beijing was unveiled on March 29 so the public will have an opportunity to make suggestions. The Beijing Planning and Land Resources Management Committee said experts led and participated in 38 areas of research to draft the plan, which covers 2016 to 2030. Opinion surveys also have been prepared for it. Forest coverage throughout the capital has more than tripled from 12.8 percent to 42.3 percent, since China launched a national tree-planting campaign in the early 1980s, according to Beijing municipal authorities. The plan aims to reach more than 45 percent forest coverage and a per capita parkland area of 16.8 square meters by 2030.

Beijing, Manila set talks on S. China Sea for May

China and the Philippines will hold their first meeting under a bilateral consultation arrangement on the South China Sea in May, the Foreign Ministry said on March 28. China has invited officials from the Philippines' Ministry of Foreign Affairs to attend the meeting in China, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular news briefing. Beijing and Manila are engaged in "friendly discussions" on details of the meeting, she said.

Memo gets tough on shady trade activity

The Memorandum of Cooperation on Jointly Introducing Punitive Measures Against Discredited Import and Export Enterprises was released on March 28. It is designed to tackle such illegal activities as smuggling, tariff payments in arrears and shell companies, to better regulate foreign trade. It is thought to include some of the toughest such measures ever released. The memorandum says 33 central government departments - including the Ministry of Public Security, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and Supreme People's Court - will work together to keep a sharp eye on all trade companies nationwide, setting up a tight credit management and supervision network.

Local successes seen in fight against hunger

China's accomplishments in securing food safety, nutrition and poverty alleviation for its population are a crucial part of a new five-year strategic plan launched by the United Nations World Food Programme in Beijing on March 28. Working with the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture, the WFP aims to use the plan as a step toward building a world without hunger by 2030. It enables WFP to learn from China's expertise and experience to foster a new generation of farm leaders who can provide practical, on site demonstrations. The program, for example, would enable such young African leaders in agriculture to come to China and observe, then receive seed money to implement innovative solutions and demonstrate practices to their peers back in their home countries.

Nano research facility being built

Chinese scientists are building the world's largest multifunctional research platform for nanoscience and nanotechnology that could help develop more powerful computers and more intelligent robots. The Vacuum Interconnected Nano-X Research Facility in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, has received initial funding of 320 million yuan ($46.5 million; 42.9 million euros; 37.4 million), and will eventually have a budget of 1.5 billion yuan, said Ding Sunan, deputy director of the project.

Major ship lock sees smooth operation

More than 220,000 metric tons of cargo have been carried through the world's largest ship lock at the Yangtze River's Three Gorges Dam since September, China Three Gorges Corp announced on March 28. A total of 886 ships, carrying 220,415 tons of cargo and more than 7,900 passengers passed through the dam's lock between September and mid-March.

Thousands of artifacts added to museum

The Palace Museum in Beijing, also known as the Forbidden City, said on March 29 it has added about 55,000 cultural artifacts to its inventory, some found in storage and others uncovered while renovating a kitchen. The museum, which was China's formal imperial palace from 1420 to 1911, now holds nearly 1.9 million artifacts. In 2010 there were 1.8 million pieces in the world's most-visited museum. Some of the newly cataloged items are on display at the museum, where they'll be exhibited through April 15.

Anti-smog plan goes after polluters

China unveiled an environmental plan on March 29 to curb air pollution in its northern region, which usually suffers continual smog in winter. Under the plan, all the cement and casting plants will be required to suspend production during the heating season from Nov 15 to March 15, except those providing heating services and processing dangerous waste in 28 cities in the region and the three neighboring provinces of Shandong, Shanxi and Henan. All the coal-fired power plants in these cities will be shut down if they fail to reach low emission standards by the end of October, the plan says.

Lang Ping renews coaching contract

Volleyball icon Lang Ping renewed her contract as head coach of the Chinese women's volleyball team on March 29. Having led the team to gold at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Lang was unsure about whether to extend her coaching role with the team after the Games, citing health reasons. She successfully underwent hip surgery in Chicago in January. An Jiajie, former assistant coach, was given the newly created title of executive coach, the No 2 slot.

Show to display top gem collections

The fifth China (Hunan) International Mineral and Gem Show will be held in Chenzhou from May 18 to 22. Hosted by the Hunan provincial government, the annual show is said to be the largest of its kind in Asia. Visitors will be able to see top gem collections, including the world's largest red tourmaline, found in Brazil.

Discoveries in tomb 2,700 years old

Uncovered remains from tombs in the Tibet autonomous region's eastern Bomi county have been verified as being up to 2,700 years old, according to a researcher. The 13 tombs were excavated at the end of last year in Chudo township, about 600 kilometers from Lhasa, the regional capital. The site lies at an altitude of 2,900 meters. The exposed area of the tombs covers up to 700 square meters, with each tomb measuring 80 centimeters long and 50 cm wide, according to the Institute of Cultural Relics Protection in Tibet.

Gold deposit could be China's largest

A gold deposit estimated at 550 metric tons has been found in Shandong province, a major gold producer has announced. The deposit was found at the Xiling gold mine in the Laizhou-Zhaoyuan region, according to Shandong Gold Group, one of the top-three gold producers in China. Full exploration is expected to take two years. If the volume is correct, it would be worth more than 150 billion yuan ($21.8 billion; 20.1 billion euros; 17.3 billion), which would make Xiling the largest-ever gold reserve in China, the company said.

Soil restoration projects get funding

China's leading scientific institute will invest 20 million yuan ($2.9 million; 2.7 million euros; 2.3 million) over the next 18 months in projects that tackle heavy metal pollution in soil. It's part of an effort to safeguard food and water security, the Chinese Academy of Sciences said on March 29. The soil restoration projects, spearheaded by the academy's Institute of Soil Science in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, will establish regional standards for cadmium, nickel, arsenic and other toxic heavy metals.

China asks French to remain calm

China has requested that French authorities understand the reaction of Chinese people living in France after the death of a Chinese citizen in Paris and keep calm to avoid escalating fears, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on March 29. Lu said the Foreign Ministry's Department of Consular Affairs and the Chinese embassy in France urgently expressed China's concerns to officials at the French embassy in China, as well as to the French Interior Ministry and the French police on March 28. "We hope the French side will take effective measures to guarantee the security and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese in France," Lu said.

Students to study in inland cities

More than 20,000 ethnic students in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region will be accepted onto courses at inland schools and universities this year. A total of 9,880 students from Xinjiang will go to study in inland high schools, while 3,300 will attend inland vocational schools and 8,600 will study at inland universities, the regional education department said.

Tibet focuses on improving livelihoods

The Tibet autonomous region plans to spend 30 billion yuan ($4.3 billion; 3.97 billion euros; 3.46 billion) improving people's livelihoods this year, according to the region's financial department. The money will be used on 33 projects, including poverty alleviation, education, health and social welfare, Jiang Guojie, deputy head of the department, said at a recent meeting. According to the financial department, 8.8 billion yuan will be used on targeted poverty alleviation projects, including one that aims to relocate at least 160,000 people to more habitable locations, this year.

Migrants' children face school issues

More than 2 million children of migrant workers are unable to enroll in public primary or junior schools in the cities where their parents live, according to the Blue Book of Migrant Children, released on March 28 by the Beijing-based 21st Century Education Research Institute. Only 80 percent of migrant children who qualify for 9-year compulsory education as of 2014 could attend public schools where their parents live. Others had to turn to private schools or ones set up specifically for migrant workers' children, which are usually poorly constructed and of low educational quality.

Life expectancy in Shanghai tops 83 years

The average life expectancy in Shanghai reached more than 83 years in 2016, far higher than the national average of 76.3 in 2015 and close to the world's highest of 83.7 in Japan and 83.4 in Switzerland. Public health standards in the city have been maintained at the advanced level of developed countries and regions for 13 consecutive years, the Shanghai Municipal Government's Information Office said when releasing the figures on March 27.

Rules tightened to turn away home speculators

Beijing housing authorities tightened regulations on commercial real estate projects as a way to cool down a housing market with soaring prices fueled by speculative buyers. According to an official statement released by the city's housing, urban planning, industry and commerce and banking authorities, new commercial real estate projects - including those converted from office buildings to individual units - may be sold only to qualified enterprises, public institutions and social organizations. In addition, the smallest unit for sale should not be less than 500 square meters. Moreover, personal loans for purchasing commercial real estate also have been suspended.

Leaders talk Belt and Road plan with Xi

Nepal, Micronesia and Madagascar are welcome to take part in the Belt and Road Initiative, President Xi Jinping separately told leaders of the three countries on March 27. While meeting with Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Xi said that the two countries should seize the opportunities to work together on the Belt and Road Initiative to push forward cooperation in such areas as interconnection, free trade, agriculture, production capacity, energy and earthquake reconstruction.

Immigrant detentions increase by 40%

Police in Guangdong province have detained more than 1,800 illegal immigrants this year, mostly from Southeast Asia, as part of a crackdown on cross-border human smuggling. That's a 40 percent increase over the same period last year. Police also detained more than 70 people smugglers, including four from Hong Kong and Taiwan and four from foreign countries, as well as the owners of factories found to employ illegal immigrants.

Sick and disabled used to smuggle drugs

Drug traffickers are using people in vulnerable groups as smugglers, including the physically and mentally disabled, people with acute and chronic diseases and women who breastfeed their babies, the 2016 report on the drug situation in China shows. Police detained more than 4,500 such people across the country last year for trafficking, most of them recruited by drug lords, according to the annual report released by China's top anti-drug body.

Watchdogs punish corruption in PLA

A total of 4,885 members of the People's Liberation Army were punished last year for disciplinary violations, according to PLA Daily. Disciplinary watchdogs within the PLA investigated 445 cases last year, the newspaper said, adding that the Central Military Commission's Disciplinary Inspection Committee, the PLA's top anti-corruption body, focused on examining tip-offs about high-ranking officers.