Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivers a speech during an inspection to the navy under the Northern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, June 11, 2018. [Photo/Xinhua] JINAN - President Xi Jinping has stressed building an elite maritime force to resolutely accomplish various missions entrusted by the Party and the people. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), made the call during an inspection to the navy under the Northern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army on June 11. Xi emphasized the need to resolutely implement the Party's thinking on strengthening the military for the new era and continue to enhance the political loyalty of the armed forces, strengthen them through reform and technology, and run them in accordance with law. Xi also spoke of the need for the navy to meet the requirements of transformation. Xi visited a submarine force around 3:30 pm Monday as a summer breeze rustled through the trees on the coast of Qingdao, East China's Shandong province. At port was a new-type submarine which had taken part in the recent naval parade in the South China Sea. On the hull, soldiers stood in formation waiting to be inspected. Xi went aboard and chatted with them, asking about their work and life. The president said he is always concerned about soldiers who spend years of their life on submarines deep under the sea. As he learned that the soldiers were dedicated to their career, worked hard, and had accomplished their tasks, Xi nodded his head in appreciation. The president then went down into the cabins to learn about the weapons and ammunition. He encouraged soldiers to remain firm in ideals and convictions, build a strong team, and train themselves to excel in skills. Xi signed his name on the logbook. Before leaving the dock, Xi walked toward another submarine nearby and waved to the soldiers. Xi inspected the training of the submarine force at a comprehensive simulation facility. How is simulation-based training going? Can the facilities meet the demands? Are there any challenges? the president asked. He was pleased to learn that the soldiers benefit a lot from the training and spoke of the need to continue to improve training infrastructure. Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits a submarine during an inspection to the navy under the Northern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, June 11, 2018. [Photo/Xinhua] Xi watched a group of trainees undergo a sonar recognition exercise. He joined to test them and gave a thumbs-up to a soldier who gave the correct answer. Xi met with senior navy officers at the navy headquarters of the Northern Theater Command and took a group photo with them. He listened to the command's naval work report and gave an important speech. Xi spoke of the need to grasp the changes of national security circumstances, speed up preparations for military struggle, including battle planning, capacity building and command system building. Xi said the intensity of training needs to be enhanced, its modules to be innovated, and its supervision to be strengthened. He stressed the need for targeted training, training for commanders, and training under combat conditions. He called for efforts to implement the requirements for the transformation of the navy, accelerate the work to improve elite combat forces, and focus on tackling areas of weakness and making breakthroughs. Forward-looking plans and top-level designs are also needed to promote the transformation and development of naval air forces, Xi said. Xi also stressed the absolute Party leadership over the armed forces and ceaseless work to improve Party conduct, enforce Party discipline and fight corruption. Ideological work within the military should be strengthened and combat capability should be regarded as the criterion for military building, Xi said. He urged the navy to coordinate with civilian departments, innovate in institutions and mechanisms and development models to improve military-civilian integration. On Thursday morning in Jinan, capital of Shandong, Xi met with senior officers of troops stationed in the province. CMC Vice Chairman Xu Qiliang attended the events. entrance wristbandscustom silicone bandsmake your own rubber braceletcustom fidget spinners24 hour wristbandsblack rubber bracelets24 hour braceletsmotivational wristbands for athletessilicone keychain
A woman shows a box of ejiao at a pharmacy in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province in 2011. [Photo/IC] Xinjiang port handles 8,000 animals in first quarter of year The number of live donkeys being imported to the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region from Central Asia has soared in the past year to meet demand for ejiao, a traditional Chinese medicine made from boiled donkey hide. Imports in the first quarter through the Irkeshtam Port - the only port in Xinjiang that handles live animals - more than doubled year-on-year to 8,000, according to data from customs authorities in Urumqi. The donkeys are mainly sold in Shandong province, which produces about 90 percent of all ejiao products in China. The live donkey trade was worth 10.03 million yuan ($1.57 million) last year. The gelatinous medicine is mainly used as a treatment for anemia and menopause-related ailments. However, an online post in February by a health service center under the former national health authority advised the public not to purchase ejiao, saying the traditional medicine is not as nutritious as chicken eggs for the human body. It later apologized for creating misunderstanding. Irkeshtam Port began importing live donkeys from Kyrgyzstan in August 2016 and has handled more than 27,000 to date. Since then, the number of companies importing live donkeys has increased from one to six, with more expected to join the trade this year. Companies involved in the live donkey trade need to have a Chinese quarantine permit. The live donkeys arrive at the port in Xinjiang after a two-day journey through Kyrgyzstan. They are then kept in quarantine for 14 days on the Chinese side of the border. The donkeys' blood is tested when they pass through to port to make sure the animals are healthy. Annual production of ejiao, a lucrative product, has totaled 5,000 metric tons in recent years, using 4 million donkey hides. The high demand, coupled with a decline in China's donkey population, has resulted in a marked rise in the number of skins being imported each year. The number of donkeys in China fell from 9.4 million in 1996 to 4.6 million in 2016, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The decline is partly the result of urbanization: Many farmers, who once used donkeys as work animals, migrated to cities. Also, traditional cultivation techniques are gradually being replaced by machines. There are now only enough donkeys to meet half of China's annual demand for ejiao. In response, producers have turned to overseas markets to secure the needed donkey hides. Qin Yufeng, CEO of Dong'e Ejiao, the largest ejiao manufacturer in China, said about 40 percent of the donkey skins it uses are imported. The General Administration of Customs announced in December that it would lower the tariff on imported donkey hides beginning on Jan 1, with the import tariff on entire hides of a certain weight cut from 5 percent to 2 percent. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates there are about 44 million donkeys worldwide, mainly in Asia, North Africa and South America.
