Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.
大家好，我是主持人李莹亮。
Coming up on today’s program.
重点提要
-First locally transmitted Omicron cases in Tianjin put national disease control and Beijing Winter Olympics on alert;
-Guangdong government plays “matchmaker” to help state-owned developers buy up distressed assets of private firms.
Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours
中国经济要闻
Tianjin fights China’s first real battle against the new variant Omicron, as the city detected 40 COVID-19 infections during the weekend, with two identified as carrying the new variant. It is the first time that cases linked to the strain were discovered in local communities in mainland China.
The virus has spread for at least three generations in the latest resurgence, and more cases are expected to be found, said Zhang Ying, deputy director of the city's Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
After discovering two local Omicron cases on Saturday, a further 18 cases were found in follow-up tests of high-risk groups. The city said the two cases were part of the same transmission chain, but are not linked with the imported Omicron case detected last December.
Another 20 cases were reported on Sunday night in the city, all from the same district. It is not clear whether they were infected with the Omicron variant.
The Omicron variant tends to infect children more easily, Chinese health experts said on Sunday, as more than half of the 40 COVID-19 cases were middle and primary school students.
Tianjin has since beefed up disease control measures. On Sunday night it required residents not to leave the city if not necessary unless they could provide negative nucleic acid test results valid in 48 hours and approved by their community.
The sudden outbreak also put adjacent Beijing on alert, creating huge uncertainty and a high possibility of spillover as the source of the outbreak remains unknown. The CDC in Beijing issued a reminder on Sunday that residents should not travel between the two cities unless necessary.
On the other hand, over the weekend, a senior official at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs tried to calm public worries of food supply amid new COVID-19 flare-ups, saying that China has a sufficient supply of food at stable prices to fully meet the needs of urban and rural residents during the upcoming Spring Festival holidays and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
On a different note, the Chinese mainland reported 97 domestic cases on Sunday, with 60 in Henan province and 15 in Xi’an city.
中国直面奥密克戎的时刻还是来了。
在奥密克戎在全球范围肆虐、多国不断刷新疫情以来日增病例新高的背景下，天津出现了多例本土传播的奥密克戎病例，也对北京冬奥会的疫情防控工作增添了不少压力。
1月8日至9日，天津一共新增40例阳性感染者，其中2例确认为奥密克戎变异株。此次天津疫情是奥密克戎变异株首次在我国本土社区传播。
据天津市疾病预防控制中心副主任张颖介绍，从病例之间的关系和传播的链条上来看，18例的病例至少已经传播了三代，因此对于这起疫情的走势，不排除会在封控区、管控区和防范区之外，有可能会出现其他的阳性感染者。
在1月8日凌晨先后接到津南医院两次报告，两名人员新冠病毒核酸检测初筛阳性之后，经重点人群筛查，截至当日21时，天津市在密切接触者中又检出18例新冠病毒感染者。经分析比对，并经中国疾控中心确认，2例本土病例新冠病毒均属于VOC/Omicron变异株（BA.1进化分支），属于同一传播链，与天津市已发现的境外输入病例奥密克戎变异株序列均不能确认为同一传播链。
1月9日，天津再增20例阳性病例。8日21时至9日21时，天津市津南区疾病预防控制中心报告，20名新冠病毒核酸检测人员咽拭子样本核酸检测结果为阳性，均已转运至天津市定点医院做进一步诊断治疗。
同时，中国工程院院士张伯礼表示，此次天津疫情表现为中小学生等低龄感染群体比例较高，这也是奥密克戎变异株表现出的新特点，值得我们高度警惕和应对。
天津宣布，严格落实离津管理。广大市民群众非必要不离津，确需离津的，自9日24时起，须持有48小时内核酸检测阴性证明和健康码绿码。同时，实施离津审批报备制度，按照“谁主管谁负责”原则，须经单位或社区审批。
随着天津出现感染者，北京市疫情防控面临境外境内双重风险。北京市委建委发重要提醒，对天津进（返）京人员严格落实防控措施。并要求北京市人员非必要不去津，天津人员非必要不来京，建议京津通勤人员居家办公。
另一方面，1月8日，在国务院联防联控机制新闻发布会上，农业农村部市场与信息化司副司长刘涵表示，新春佳节将至，综合各方面情况看，今年节日期间，粮油肉蛋奶鱼果蔬等供应充足，完全可以满足城乡居民消费需求。
1月9日，全国新增本土病例97例（河南60例，其中郑州市24例、许昌市21例、安阳市15例；天津21例，均在津南区；陕西15例，均在西安市；广东1例，在深圳市）。
Next on industry and company news
产经消息及公司新闻
Guangdong provincial government has held meetings with a number of property enterprises, likely paving the way for state-owned developers to carry out merger and acquisition (M&A) deals with troubled property firms. The meeting came after media reports said that loan limits for debt-financed acquisitions will be removed. China Aoyuan Group, Guangzhou R&F Properties, Poly Developments, China Overseas Land & Investment, Minmetals Land, Yuexiu Property and Guangzhou Pearl River Enterprises were among the participants.
广东为房企收并购搭桥：广东省政府日前召集多家房企开会，鼓励国有房地产企业收购出险和陷入困境房地产企业的项目。此前有媒体报道称，为加快房地产企业的并购，将取消债务融资收购的贷款限额。目前银行已告知一些大型优质房企，针对出险企业项目的承债式收购，相关并购贷款不再计入“三条红线”相关指标。
Some provinces and municipalities have recently set the maximum after-school training for offline courses at 80 yuan per class hour per student ($12.5), with the minimum less than 10 yuan, and most are between 20 and 50 yuan, according to state media Xinhua, as local governments cap private tutoring fee by the end of 2021.
校外培训“限价令”：近日，京沪广深等多地密集发布了义务教育阶段学科类校外培训收费标准。收费标准均实行政府指导价管理。据不完全统计，目前各省市公布的指导价中，线下学科类校外培训最高为每生每课时80元，最低不到10元，大部分集中在20至50元之间；规定收费上浮不得超过10%，下浮不限。
The High People's Court of Guangdong on Monday dismissed the appeal of the scandal-plagued Kangmei Pharmaceutical's former president Ma Xingtian and upheld the verdict that sentenced Ma to a 12-year jail time and fined him 1.2 million yuan for market manipulation, illegal disclosure and bribery.
康美马兴田二审维持原判：2022年1月10日，广东省高级人民法院对康美药业原董事长马兴田操纵证券市场案依法作出终审裁定，驳回上诉，维持原判。2021年11月17日，广东省佛山市中级人民法院对马兴田以操纵证券市场罪、违规披露、不披露重要信息罪、单位行贿罪判处有期徒刑十二年，并处罚金120万元。
Cash-strapped property firm China Evergrande Group was reported on Monday to have left what has been its headquarters in the city of Shenzhen. On Monday afternoon, the company’s logo was seen being partially removed on one side of the building.
恒大退租深圳总部：1月10日，媒体报道称恒大集团已从原深圳总部大楼搬离，目前深圳总部大楼“恒大集团”的牌子也已被拆掉。据知情人士透露，恒大集团已经在2021年12月份从该大楼退租。
Switching gears to the financial sector
金融市场要闻
China’s foreign exchange reserves reached $3.25 trillion at the end of December, 2021, up $27.8 billion month-on-month and hitting a six-year high, according to data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange in early January. The rising valuation of Chinese currency continued to be the main factor.
2021年末外汇储备创6年新高：国家外汇管理局1月7日公布的最新数据显示，至2021年12月末中国外汇储备规模32502亿美元，较上月增加278亿美元，创近6年来新高。国家外汇管理局副局长王春英表示，人民币估值上升是2021年中国外汇储备增加的主要原因。
China's top anti-graft watchdog said it has placed the chairman of China Life Insurance, one of the country's largest insurers, under investigation on "suspicion of serious violations of discipline and law.”
中国人寿董事长接受调查：中央纪委国家监委日前披露，中国人寿保险（集团）公司党委书记、董事长王滨涉嫌严重违纪违法，目前正接受中央纪委国家监委纪律审查和监察调查。
Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market
最后来看股市收盘情况
Chinese stocks ended higher on Monday, lifted by gains in healthcare firms that conduct COVID-19 testings. The Shanghai Composite was up 0.39 percent, and the Shenzhen Component gained 0.44 percent. The Hang Seng Index gained 1.08 percent as the TECT Index rose 2.21 percent.
周一A股回升，沪指收涨0.39%，深成指涨0.44%。新冠检测板块全天大涨，多股涨停。港股恒生指数涨1.08%，科技股普涨，科技指数涨2.21%。
