CLOSE TO THE MOON: A visitor spins a moon globe whose image was pictured by China's Chang'e-1 lunar orbiter at an exhibit on lunar exploration in Guiyang, Guizhou Province, on May 24 (XINHUA)

Cyber Cooperation

China reiterated on May 29 that it is against all Internet hacking attacks and hopes to conduct dialogues and cooperate with the United States on this matter under the principle of mutual respect and trust.

The remarks, made by Assistant Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang at a news briefing, came ahead of the summit between President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama on June 7 and 8—the first face-to-face communication between the two leaders since Xi assumed his post in March.

China has repeatedly been accused of being behind hacking activities. The latest accusation came from The Washington Post on May 29, which cited a U.S. Defense Science Board report as saying that Chinese hackers have gained access to designs of two dozen U.S. weapon systems.

Zheng said that China and the United States have agreed to set up a working team on cybersecurity issues under the framework of the China-U.S. Strategic Security Dialogue, and China is willing to conduct further talks and cooperation under the principle of mutual respect and trust.

Pension Insurance

Urban and rural pension insurance had covered 486 million Chinese people as of the end of April, an official with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said on May 26.

As many as 133 million elderly people are receiving monthly pensions, according to Liu Conglong, Deputy Director of the ministry's Rural Pension Department.

The government kicked off a rural pension pilot program in 2009 and announced a pilot social pension insurance program for urban residents in 2011.

With sponsorship from the government, rural residents over the age of 60 can receive monthly endowments that are proportionate to local income standards.

The payment for the insurance comprises two different parts: basic insurance, which is fully provided by the government, and the personal pension account, which is paid by rural residents themselves.

Terror Asset Freeze

China is seeking public opinion on a draft of a regulation to cut off funding for terrorist activities.

Funds and assets used by terrorist groups and facilitators of terrorist activity should be frozen immediately after a list of such groups or people is confirmed by authorities, according to the draft released on May 24.

The document, jointly drafted by the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of State Security, will remain open to public discussion until June 23.

The draft rule is intended to put into practice a decision on strengthening counter-terrorism efforts adopted in October 2011 by urging improvements to the process of freezing terrorist-related assets, according to a PBOC statement.

Migrant Population

China had nearly 263 million migrant workers at the end of 2012, up 3.9 percent from the previous year, according to official data released on May 27.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that last year more than 163 million migrant workers sought jobs away from home lasting at least six months, marking a year-on-year increase of 3 percent. Most of these workers were from less developed central and western regions.

The per-capita monthly income of migrant workers stood at 2,300 yuan ($375) at the end of 2012. It rose 11.8 percent from the previous year, but the growth was 9.4 percentage points lower than in 2011, said the NBS.

The transportation and construction sectors offered higher salaries, while migrant workers with jobs in the service, catering and manufacturing sectors earned less, according to the report.

The average age of Chinese migrant workers stood at 37 in 2012, and male workers made up 66 percent of the total.

The survey covered about 200,000 rural laborers in more than 7,500 villages around the country, said the NBS.