Banking regulator to tighten loan oversight
China's top banking and insurance regulator has issued a circular to tighten management of loans and guard against extending loans to organizations and individuals involved in organized crime.

As the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission has made it a regular task to combat criminal syndicates, banks and financial institutions are required to pay attention to borrowers that may use loans to engage in organized crime, including loan-sharking or other illegal activities, the commission said in a notice released on July 13.

It also stressed regulating business cooperation with third parties, saying that core business affairs such as credit review and risk control must not be outsourced. In addition, banks are not allowed to provide funding to unqualified lending organizations, and co-financed lending with such organizations is also prohibited.

To tighten management over debt collectors, the commission also required banks and insurance institutions to not authorize organizations or individuals involved in organized crimes to collect loans as third parties on their behalf.

According to the notice, banks and insurance institutions should also establish a regular working mechanism to recognize the risks of fraud faced in key business sectors.

Ministry launches effort to promote tourist goods
With China encouraging the development of creative cultural products with various themes such as the Great Wall and Red tourism, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has recently launched a campaign aiming to promote tourist goods.

According to a notice published by the ministry on July 7, the campaign is focusing on key villages and counties to develop rural tourism as well as quality tourist attractions and holiday resorts.

Local cultural and tourism authorities should consider their unique environments and characteristics as well as mobilizing their social resources when proceeding with projects that help present their cultures through creative designs, it said.

The ministry called for efforts to develop a series of products themed on the Great Wall, rural tourism, characteristic intangible cultural heritages and industrial tourism, among others, to further enrich the supply of tourist commodities.

Online sales of the products on e-commerce platforms or through livestreaming are also encouraged to better meet the demands of tourists and locals by expanding the consumption of such goods, the notice said.

Authorities to improve vocational education
Authorities have stressed efforts to improve the quality of vocational education and support the employment of vocational school graduates as the country aims to expand student enrollment in such schools by 1 million this year.

According to a notice jointly issued by the Ministry of Education and five other governmental departments recently, students must be admitted through assessment of both their cultural knowledge and vocational skills to guarantee the quality of expanded enrollment.

Vocational education should be carried out in various forms and with flexible arrangements without standards being lowered, the notice said, noting that schools and enterprises are encouraged to jointly cultivate students through apprenticeships, oriented training and other means.

To ensure employment for vocational school graduates, local governments are required to implement policies that help expand vocational worker posts, support those who have difficulty finding jobs and encourage graduates to create their own jobs through entrepreneurship and innovation, according to the notice.