The wild giant panda population in northwest China's Zhouzhi National Nature Reserve is flourishing, with a notable increase in their activity range, traces left behind, and the frequency of encounters in the wild, according to a latest field survey.
Recently, a survey team composed of both scientific researchers and local wood rangers has conducted monitoring and survey work on wild giant pandas within the reserve, aiming at providing more scientific evidence and effective measures for the conservation of wild pandas and their habitats.
"Along a 6-km transect line, we found a total of 18 giant panda fecal samples. What's more valuable is that we encountered four actual giant pandas along the line. Both the rates are relatively higher when compared to other similar habitats of giant pandas," said Gong Minghao, a research fellow at the Institute of Wetland Research of the Chinese Academy of Forestry (CAF).
The survey team also discovered that the wild giant pandas in this nature reserve are in good health, and their distribution range is steadily expanding.
"From the giant panda fecal samples we have collected, we found that each sample site had over ten fecal piles, with some having as many as over 30. This suggests that the pandas' food intake and bowel movements are ideal, indicating that they are in good health. In addition, we observed an expansion in giant pandas' distribution area. When we compared their current habitat's elevation with data we already had, we found that it's about 100 meters lower on average," said Gong.
Researchers explained that wild giant pandas in the region are busy searching for mate during the ongoing mating season, which increases the chances of encountering them.
Cubs and sub-adult pandas are more easily to be spotted sunbathing on treetops, which helps dry off moisture on their fur, according to Gong.
"Panda cubs are often seen on trees for two main reasons. Firstly, they are lighter, so it's easier for them to climb up a tree than adult pandas do. Secondly, they are more sensitive to the surrounding environment, especially in the morning when their fur get damp (after the night when moisture has accumulated on their bodies). They climb trees to dry off quickly and feel comfortable. So, when the sun rises in the morning, they will enjoy sunbathing on trees to stay warm and cozy," he added.
Wild giant panda population flourishing in NW China nature reserve
The financial authorities of the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on Monday announced a series of measures to optimize the mutual access between the mainland and Hong Kong interest rate swap markets, also known as Swap Connect.
These measures, including enriching product types and improving supporting functions, aim to better meet the diversified risk management needs of domestic and foreign investors and reduce participation costs.
The Swap Connect was launched on May 15, 2023, as an effort to implement the national strategy to steadily advance the opening-up of China's financial markets. Since then, the trading and clearing arrangements of the scheme have been operating smoothly and its trading volume has been on the rise with the active participation of mainland and overseas investors.
As of the end of April 2024, 20 mainland dealers and 58 overseas investors had conducted more than 3,600 interest rate swap transactions with an aggregate notional amount of approximately 1.77 trillion yuan (about 244.66 billion U.S. dollars), representing an average daily turnover of 7.6 billion yuan or thereabouts in notional amount.
The average daily turnover calculated on a monthly basis had increased by around three times from approximately 3 billion yuan in the first month after the launch to over 12 billion yuan in April 2024, providing mainland and overseas investors with a convenient and efficient risk management tool to manage their Renminbi asset allocation.
To further promote the coordinated development of financial derivatives markets in the mainland and Hong Kong and shape a new landscape of high-quality opening-up in the realm of finance, the People's Bank of China, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority have resolved to support the further enhancements of Swap Connect, after thoroughly reviewing the operational experiences of the scheme and carefully considering comments and suggestions from mainland and overseas investors.
One of the measures is to enrich the product types. Interest rate swap contracts with payment cycles based on the International Monetary Market (IMM) dates will be accepted for clearing to align with mainstream products traded globally and meet the diverse risk management needs of mainland and overseas investors.
Another effort is to improve the ancillary services. Compression service and the clearing of backdated swap contracts as the associated supporting arrangement will be introduced to facilitate participating institutions to manage the notional amount outstanding, lower capital costs, and foster active trading.
In addition, the China Foreign Exchange Trade System (National Interbank Funding Center), the Shanghai Clearing House, and OTC Clearing Hong Kong Limited will roll out other system enhancements and incentive programs simultaneously to reduce the participation costs of mainland and overseas investors.
For the next step, the mainland and Hong Kong regulators will guide the financial market infrastructure institutions in both markets to extend the business collaboration under Swap Connect in a steady and orderly manner and further enhance the operational arrangements of the scheme, with a view to facilitating the steady opening-up of China's financial markets and strengthening Hong Kong's status as an international financial center.
Mainland, Hong Kong optimize rate swap connect for further opening-up of China’s financial markets
