SCENE 01 · EXT. THE NATION — DAY FRIDAY · AUGUST 28, 2026 · BEIJING
At its weekly executive meeting, the State Council approved a new package of opening-up measures — shortening the foreign-investment negative list to 27 items and extending visa-free transit to 240 hours nationwide — as first-half growth beat expectations at 5.2 percent.
第壹章 CHAPTER ONE
新闻
Governance, diplomacy and the economy — reported for an international reader, refreshed through the day from the State Council and its ministries.
Chaired by Premier Li Qiang, the meeting adopted measures easing market access in telecoms, healthcare and professional services, and endorsed nationwide rollout of 240-hour visa-free transit.
The National Bureau of Statistics reported value-added output of new-energy vehicles up 34 percent and record throughput at the country’s automated ports.
The two sides signed joint statements on hydrogen supply chains and vocational training, and agreed to restart the bilateral economic advisory council in November.
Roughly 1,500 additional emitters join the ETS from October, bringing covered emissions to about 60 percent of the national total, the ecology ministry said.
The Shenzhou-23 crew’s excursion — photographed here as the station streaks across the night sky — prepares the outpost for its first international experiment module in 2027.
Track-laying crossed the Que’ershan pass this week on the Sichuan–Xizang railway, among the most ambitious rail projects ever undertaken at altitude.
Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hainan will test sandboxed data-export lanes for finance and logistics firms under a two-year commerce ministry program.
The 3.0 protocol adds chapters on the digital and green economies; signature is expected at the October leaders’ meetings in Vientiane.
The squad, announced in Hangzhou, mixes Olympic champions with university-league debutants across all 41 sports on the September program.
No headlines on this desk today — try another.
第贰章 CHAPTER TWO
国务院
The executive week: the Premier’s engagements, ministerial briefings, and the instruments of policy as they are issued.
Adopted the opening-up package; reviewed draft regulations on guaranteed payments to small and medium enterprises.
Talks covered the Global Development Initiative project pool and South–South climate finance facilities.
Local governments directed to bring day-care coverage to 90 percent of urban communities by 2028.
Documents a 21 percent cut in carbon intensity since 2020 and the world’s largest installed base of renewables.
State Council · issued Aug 27, 2026 · 18 articles
General Office · issued Aug 21, 2026 · 12 articles
State Council decree · effective Oct 1, 2026
State Council · issued Aug 12, 2026 · 24 articles
第叁章 CHAPTER THREE
服务
Coming to China to visit, work, study or invest? Choose your situation and the portal lines up the services, forms and offices that apply.
CASTING CALL — WHO ARE YOU?
SERVICE 01
Passport holders of 55 countries may transit through 60 ports in 24 provincial regions and stay up to 10 days without a visa.
SERVICE 02
Citizens of 47 countries — including France, Germany, Italy, Australia and Brazil — may enter visa-free for up to 30 days.
SERVICE 03
Bind a foreign card to Alipay or WeChat Pay, or withdraw RMB at any ATM carrying international scheme marks.
SERVICE 01
Three-tier system: Category A (top talent) enjoys a green channel with 5-day processing; B and C follow quota and points rules.
SERVICE 02
Convert your Z visa within 30 days of entry at the local exit-entry administration; permits run 1–5 years.
SERVICE 03
Five- to ten-year multiple-entry visas for scientists, executives and specialists, with fast-track family permits.
SERVICE 01
Full and partial awards covering tuition, accommodation and a stipend at 289 universities; applications open November–April.
SERVICE 02
X1 for programs over 180 days, X2 for shorter study; convert X1 to a residence permit within 30 days of arrival.
SERVICE 03
The Ministry of Education’s CSCSE verifies foreign degrees in 15 working days — needed for work permits and further study.
SERVICE 01
The 2026 national list has 27 restricted items; everything off-list is open to 100 percent foreign ownership on equal terms.
SERVICE 02
Register a WFOE in 3–5 working days through the market-regulation bureau’s single counter, with e-licenses issued same day.
SERVICE 03
Specialized IP courts in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hainan hear foreign-related cases, with bilingual filing support.
SERVICE 01
Register your address with the local police station within 24 hours of moving — hotels do this automatically.
SERVICE 02
Convert a foreign license by passing the computerized theory test; no road test required for most license classes.
SERVICE 03
Employed foreigners join the national social-insurance system; international clinics operate in all tier-1 cities.
第肆章 CHAPTER FOUR
发现中国
Beyond the headlines: landscapes, science and five millennia of culture — projected full-frame. Drag, scroll or cue the reels.
HeritageJinshanling, Hebei
At Jinshanling, conservation teams pair Ming-era bricklaying craft with millimetre-level lidar surveys — a model now used at 21 wall sections.
LandscapeWulingyuan, Hunan
Zhangjiajie’s 3,000 quartzite pillars — inspiration for cinema’s floating mountains — anchor a UNESCO geopark drawing 30 million visits a year.
WildlifeChengdu, Sichuan
Wild numbers have climbed past 1,900 as the Giant Panda National Park knits 67 reserves into a single 27,000 km² habitat corridor.
HeritageXi’an, Shaanxi
New pigment analysis at Pit 1 is reconstructing the army’s original riot of colour; a dedicated conservation lab opens to visitors this autumn.
LandscapeHuangshan, Anhui
For a thousand years the Yellow Mountains’ granite spires and seas of cloud set the template of Chinese landscape art. Sunrise, as ever, sells out first.
LandscapeGuilin, Guangxi
Slow boats from Guilin to Yangshuo pass the very bend of karst towers engraved on the national currency — now an e-boat-only quiet zone at dawn.
第伍章 CHAPTER FIVE
数字中国
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