Entrance barrier lifted in emerging industries

China is set to remove more barriers to entry in emerging industries by leveraging special policy tools to facilitate the application of new technologies, the country's top economic planner said on Friday.

Li Chunlin, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, told a news conference that pilot programs will be implemented in key areas to spearhead this effort, and special measures to ease market access will be introduced in stages.

Li addressed an opinion document released on Aug 21 concerning improving the market access system. Elaborating on its highlights, Li said it is the first of its kind to focus on 10 emerging industries, including aerospace, aviation, new energy and artificial intelligence.

He added that it aims to remove key obstacles to strengthen industry transformation and enhance the innovative allocation of production factors to improve access efficiency.

As disruptive technologies rapidly advance, unclear entry rules and overly strict access management currently existing in emerging industries highlight the need for improving regulations, Li said, underscoring the need to ease access restrictions to support the industries' development.

He explained that market access management for emerging fields cannot solely rely on traditional approval models. Instead, it should leverage market mechanisms guided by standards and scenarios to create a more flexible and resilient management system.

Transparency urged on school food safety

China's top market regulator, together with three other central government agencies, published a notice on Friday requiring honest efforts to ensure food safety in schools and kindergartens.

According to the notice, local education authorities are required to provide guidance for schools, where conditions permit, in such aspects as open tendering for the bulk purchase of ingredients, centralized procurement and the regular disclosure of relevant information.

School canteens should lay out the places for food storage, initial processing, cutting, cooking and utensil cleaning and disinfection in a reasonable manner and carry out regular equipment maintenance to prevent the invasion of harmful organisms, it said.

The notice also required that in September, principals of primary and middle schools, as well as kindergarten directors must hold at least one on-site meeting in the canteen to discuss efforts on improving the dining environment.

Responsibility for dam management to be clarified

The Ministry of Water Resources and five other government departments jointly issued a notice on Friday about strengthening the safety management of reservoir dams by further clarifying the responsibilities of various authorities.

According to the notice, efforts will be made to ensure that the responsibilities of organizations, positions and individuals for ensuring the safety of reservoir dams are clearly defined.

The notice also required efforts to conduct safety assessment and reinforcement work of reservoir dams in a regular way and strengthen the scrutiny of hidden risks.

It also requires the compilation and improvement of reservoir operation plans, as well as emergency protocols involving restrictions on floodwater storage and handling of heavy flooding at risky facilities.