Plan hastens replacing plastics with bamboo

The National Development and Reform Commission and three other government agencies have issued a three-year action plan to speed up substituting plastic with bamboo.

The plan, which was released on the commission's website last week, sets a goal for the country to establish an industrial system to produce bamboo substitutes for plastic by 2025.

The plan lays out a series of key actions, including a campaign to boost innovation and overcome technological challenges.

The country also plans to build five to 10 bases in regions that are rich in bamboo resources and have a sound bamboo industry to promote the use of it as a substitute for plastic.

China and the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization proposed the "Bamboo as a Substitute for Plastic Initiative" in 2022 to reduce pollution and carbon emissions.

Major agricultural fair set to start in Qingdao

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Shandong provincial government will co-host the 20th China International Agricultural Trade Fair from Thursday to Sunday in Qingdao.

The trade fair will take up 120,000 square meters and have 11 exhibition areas to showcase the products and services of nearly 3,000 companies. The goods include grain, oil, fruit, vegetables, livestock, poultry and aquatic products, according to ministry official Tang Ke.

Nearly 20,000 purchasers and professionals will visit the trade fair, the largest and influential comprehensive agricultural fair in China, Tang said at a news conference on Friday.

HIV/AIDS at low level in China, official says

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is at a low level of prevalence in China, a National Health Commission senior official said.

China has basically stopped the transmission of HIV/AIDS through blood transfusions and blood products, Wang Hesheng, vice-minister of the commission, said at a news conference this month.

The country has also effectively contained mother-to-child HIV/AIDS transmission and transmission through injecting drugs, said Wang, who is also director of the National Administration of Disease Prevention and Control.

The commission will continue to improve the country's strategies to prevent and control major infectious diseases and innovate disease prevention and control technologies to further reduce the threat of major infectious diseases, Wang said.

Guideline safeguards children's mental health

The Ministry of Civil Affairs and four other central organizations have issued a guideline for local authorities to better care for the mental health of children living in difficult circumstances.

Some children in rural areas who are separated from parents who work in other places, as well as those who move with migrant worker parents, are more prone to mental health issues and are in urgent need of strengthened care, the guideline says.

Local education and civil affairs authorities should come up with measures to deal with the mental health issues of children living in difficult circumstances, and schools should encourage children in need of mental health assessments to take assessments, according to the guideline.

Local civil affairs and education authorities should help these children's parents master mental health education skills, while teachers, social workers and volunteers should provide psychological counseling to children in need.