Beijing

Li seeks action on domestic baby formula

Premier Li Keqiang called on Friday for enhanced supervision of the quality of baby formula to regain public trust in domestic dairy products. Strict measures should be used to ensure the safety of the formula, and all baby formula products should be retraceable through methods such as electronic coding, Li said. The premier was speaking at an executive meeting of the State Council. Li said the regulations covering baby formula should be as strict as those on medicine. At the meeting, Li vowed to launch special campaigns to ensure the safety of milk products, supervise milk sources, standardize manufacturers and sellers of baby formula, and punish companies that do not meet the standard.

CIFTIS witnesses 415 project agreements

The Second China Beijing International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS, or Beijing Fair) was held at the China National Convention Center in Beijing from May 28 to June 1. The signing ceremony and achievement conference of the five-day event was held on Saturday. The fair witnessed the signing of 415 project agreements, with accumulated contract volume of $78.69 billion, an increase of 30.9 percent compared to last year. Among them, 114 are international projects with contract volume of $10.89 billion.

Shanghai

China reports 38th H7N9 death

A man in Shanghai died from the H7N9 strain of bird flu on Friday, local health authorities said, raising the death toll from the virus in China's mainland to 38. The 59-year-old, surnamed Shen, died on Friday afternoon, nearly two months after being confirmed as infected with the virus, the Shanghai Municipal Health and Family Planning Commission said in a statement late on Friday. Shanghai has so far reported 33 human infections. Fifteen have been cured and discharged from hospitals, 15 have died and the remaining three are still being treated, it said. The Chinese mainland has so far reported 131 confirmed H7N9 cases, 38 of which have ended in death.

Harbin

1 dead, 4 missing in NE China shipwreck

One villager died and four others have been reported missing after two boats foundered on a river in Heilongjiang province on Friday, local authorities said on Saturday. Seven people, all relatives and residents of Xinhe village in the city of Nehe, in two vessels were transporting goats across the Nenjiang River when the accidents happened around 9 am, said an official from the city government. Two villagers were rescued after the accident, and rescuers are still searching for those who are missing.

Chongqing

Microsoft to build services delivery center

Microsoft and the government of Chongqing Municipality on Wednesday signed an agreement to build a global services delivery center in the southwestern Chinese megacity.

The Chinese arm of Microsoft Services Global Delivery, the company's second such arrangement after Microsoft Global Services India, will offer software consulting, application development and delivery services to customers, according to the agreement. Meanwhile, the Chongqing municipal government and Microsoft will try to jointly introduce five to 10 outsourcing companies of Microsoft or its partners to set up businesses in the city.

Guangzhou

Officials urged to help smokers kick habit

Officials in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, are being urged to stop smoking during their everyday public duties, and at official events. In a written proposal, Guangzhou Tobacco Control Office said the city's officials can set a good example to the public, help encourage local companies to ban smoking, and help smokers quit cigarettes too, if they refrain from smoking during public and official duties.

The proposal was published online on Friday to mark the 26th World No Tobacco Day.