President Xi Jinping, also chairman of the Central Military Commission, takes a group photo with representatives from model units and model personnel before a Central Military Commission meeting in Beijing on Friday. LI GANG / XINHUA Preparedness vital in era of drastic changes, unpredictable risks, president says President Xi Jinping, also chairman of the Central Military Commission, on Friday ordered the armed forces to continue strengthening their combat preparedness and to make sure they are always ready for battle. Addressing a Central Military Commission meeting in Beijing, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said the world is in an era of drastic changes and China is still in a strategically significant period vital to the country's development. He noted that various predicable and unpredictable risks and challenges have been arising. The president urged the military to be fully aware of the nation's security and development trends, to strengthen troops' awareness of crisis, challenges and combat, and to make solid and comprehensive preparations for military operations. The People's Liberation Army and Armed Police Force must focus on improving their combat capability and whatever they do must be for the betterment of their combat readiness, Xi said. He requested that the military boost strategic and tactical planning so troops can effectively and rapidly respond to possible contingencies. He also told the military to improve its joint operation capability. New types of fighting forces should be the priority in the military's development and more realistic combat training must be held, according to Xi. Since the 18th CPC National Congress in late 2012, the armed forces have had many remarkable, innovative and historic achievements amid sophisticated situations at home and abroad as well as heavy military tasks, Xi said. Government departments at central and local levels should continue supporting the military and work together with the armed forces to make them stronger, he said. Also on Friday, Xi signed an order to open the annual training session of the armed forces. The order demands that troops hone their combat capability and that military units organize events on a regular basis to verify soldiers' ability. The armed forces must also strive to strengthen their readiness to respond to emergencies. Commanders must take the lead in studying the art of war and also must be the first to carry out training and exercises, according to the order. Exercises must be conducted based on real combat scenarios and should involve the simulation of complicated situations and the deployment of multiple weapons and equipment from different services, it stipulates. triple single rubber band braceletsilicone wristbands size chartplain rubber wristbandspersonalized heart braceletdesign your own rubber bracelet online
The restructuring of China's top environmental authority will empower it to help the country better fulfill its obligation in reducing ozone depleting substances, said a senior official with the China office of the United Nations Development Programme.Devanand Ramiah, deputy country director of UNDP China, told China Daily he was encouraged by China's work in ODS reduction since the country joined the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer in 1991.Ramiah's comments come as the world celebrated the 24th International Ozone Layer Protection Day on Sunday."After the Montreal protocol, the Chinese government has taken this very seriously in terms of putting forth all of its efforts and summoning all of its political will to address this issue."It's not easy because of the scale in China, but I think China is doing extremely well," he said, adding that the country has phased out both CFC and bromomethane at least two years ahead of the time frame required under the protocol, and it is moving ahead with clear targets in weeding out HCFCs. All three of these chemical compounds are ODS.China, as the largest producer and exporter of ODS, faces a series of challenges in phasing out the substances, he said.The scale of companies related to ODS differs and it's a challenge to come up with a strategy to address the issue. There can be difficulties in monitoring small enterprises, he said, adding the diverse and scattered nature of these firms can make their oversight difficult.He also said it's challenging for China and also the rest of the world to find lower cost alternatives to ODS, citing the example of CFC-11.CFC-11 foam was widely used as insulation before it was banned in 2010. It's much cheaper than many other substances that could replace it.Despite the challenges, Ramiah said he is "very optimistic" that China will earnestly fulfill its obligations after strengthening its top environmental authority."As you know, the biggest push by the Chinese government is to balance development with environmental protections, and it's taking the environmental aspect of development very seriously."The newly strengthened Ministry of Ecology and Environment shows the push from Chinese government at the highest level, he said.The reshuffle will help ODS management because the National Management Office of ODS Import & Export will become an independent office."That again shows a state of seriousness in terms of enforcement capacity," he said.In the latest institutional restructuring initiated by the State Council in March, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment was established to assume duties from seven government bodies, including the duty of responding to climate change."We have a very robust program and we are delivering with our partners. Institutional strengthening requires a lot of coordination between different entities and the institutions need to be strong. All in all I think it's going well," he said.Many countries have been following China's lead in introducing new ODS control plans.With the support of the UNDP, there have been countries coming to China, including Malaysia, India and Indonesia, to learn from both the Chinese government and the private sector, he said."China's challenge is so vast but China's action has also been vast," he said.
