Nepalese and Chinese students gather on April 25 to pray for Nepal at Nanhua University in Hengyang, Hunan province. International rescue teams and relief supplies began arriving in Nepal's devastated capital on April 26 to help terrified and homeless survivors of a quake that has killed thousands of people in the impoverished nation. Qin Bin / China Daily

People's Liberation Army in Moscow debut

China's top envoy in Russia has confirmed that the People's Liberation Army will, for the first time, send a contingent to take part in a major parade in Moscow in May.

Russia plans to hold grand celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War - its term for World War II - on May 9, including a military parade in Red Square.

Li Hui, the Chinese ambassador to Russia, said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency on April 27, "It will be the first time that China has dispatched a marching contingent to take part in the military parade in Red Square."

China's participation in the parade demonstrates fully the strategic coordination between the two countries, the envoy said.

Seaplane will protect maritime rights

China will be able to use its first domestically developed amphibious plane to enhance its operational capability at sea and safeguard its maritime interests, according to the aircraft's chief designer.

"The primary uses of the AG-600 will be forest fire control and maritime search and rescue," Huang Lingcai told China Daily on April 27. "But it can also play an important role in law enforcement tasks at sea and other maritime operations that protect our rights and interests."

The plane is due to make its maiden flight in the first half of 2016. Huang was speaking after a ceremony in Hanzhong, Shaanxi province, marking the delivery of its rear fuselage.

The 17.5-meter section was manufactured by the Shaanxi Aircraft Corp, a subsidiary of Aviation Industry Corp of China, the company that designed and is building the plane.

China sees surge in China's 4G users

4G users in the world's second-largest economy continued to surge, and charges for the telecom service are expected to fall in the future, official data showed on April 28. China added about 60 million 4G clients in the first quarter, including 23.8 million in March, to reach 162 million, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Wen Ku, an official from the ministry in charge of telecommunications, expects the country's total 4G users to reach 250 million by the end of the year.

By the end of March, China had 1.29 billion mobile phone subscriptions, up 3.6 percent year-on-year.

Warning over Abe's US visit

Beijing warned on April 28 that the alliance between the United States and Japan should not undermine China's interests or disturb the Asia-Pacific region.

The warning came as the two allies highlighted territorial issues and Japan's increased security role during Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ongoing trip to the US.

US President Barack Obama welcomed Abe to the White House on April 28. Hailing the alliance as the "cornerstone" of security in the Asia-Pacific, the two countries vowed to counter threats to "international order" by forging a trade deal and through an expanded security role for long-pacifistic Japan.

Observers said the Obama administration's latest policy agenda shows that the US views China's rising strategic influence in the region as an imminent challenge and that Tokyo has secured more tangible support from Washington during Abe's visit.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said on April 27 at a joint news conference that Washington's "commitment to Japan's security remains ironclad and covers all territories under Japan's administration".

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on April 28, "Both the US and Japan have a duty to ensure that their alliance does not infringe the interests of third parties, including China, or the peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region."

China's territorial sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands and affiliated islets "remains intact no matter who makes remarks or (takes) action against them", he said. He also said the way in which the US-Japan treaty alliance, formed during the Cold War, develops "deserves attention from all parties".

Small cities are big for jobs

Fast-growing satellite cities in China are becoming more attractive to jobseekers from lesser-developed and first-tier cities, according to a recent survey.

The number of people who want to shift their work to first-tier cities, such as Beijing, dropped by 10 percent year-on-year in the traditional job-hunting season that started in February, according to the survey by Zhaopin, a Chinese human resources website.

At the same time, the number of people seeking to shift their jobs to second-or third-tier cities, increased by 10 percent year-on-year.

Chengdu to start Moscow flights

Chengdu, Sichuan province, is set to become the first city in the western part of the country to offer direct flights to Moscow on May 2, Sichuan Airlines said. The new link of the provincial capital is expected to significantly shorten travel time to its Russian destination to eight hours.

Panda pair set for Macao

A new pair of giant pandas given by the central government to Macao arrived in the special administrative region on April 30. The male and female pandas were chosen from 55 bears via a three-month selection process.

Tax cut to boost spending

Tariffs on imported consumer goods will be cut in parts of China by the end of June to fuel domestic consumption, stabilize economic growth and reduce the outflow of spending by Chinese tourists.

An executive meeting of the State Council, presided over by Premier Li Keqiang, decided on April 28 to increase imports of overseas products favored by Chinese consumers, in a move to woo those whose shopping lists during overseas travel have expanded from luxury brands to daily consumer goods.

More duty free stores will open at Chinese borders, with a higher purchasing cap for each individual tourist and more categories of products. Easier tax refund procedures will be promoted, accompanied by reinforced efforts in customs clearing checks to curb smuggling, the meeting decided.

A statement released afterward said the policies are part of the government's efforts to boost consumption, sustain growth and restructure the economy.

Chinese tourists spend an average of about 12,000 yuan ($1,934) on tours and 7,000 yuan on shopping, according to the China National Tourism Administration. But more Chinese are willing to travel overseas, with shopping high on their agendas, driven by a stronger yuan, favorable visa policies and growing wealth.

Customs integration rolls out

From May 1, customs authorities in Fujian, Guangdong and Hainan provinces and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region will integrate operations for importers and exporters to improve logistics procedures.

New rich set sights on tech, media sectors

An increasing number of wealthy people will be attracted to China's technology, media and telecom sectors, according to a report on April 29.

Funds available for China's private investors will total 114.5 trillion yuan ($18.46 trillion) at the end of this year, according to the report, released by Forbes magazine and CreditEase Corp.

The report is based on a survey taken from January to March of 1,149 "mass affluent" Chinese, defined as those with funds available to invest of between 600,000 yuan and 6 million yuan. More than 60 percent of them are ages 30 to 49.

Private investable funds in China totaled about 106.2 trillion yuan at the end of last year, a year-on-year increase of 12.8 percent.