China issues landmark regulation on allocation of government investment funds

Chinese authorities issued a regulation on Monday that includes 14 measures outlining the allocation of government investment funds to support the country's major strategies, key areas, and weak links where the market is unable to effectively allocate resources.

This is the first state-level systematic regulation of its kind. It was jointly released by the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Government funds designated under the regulation must not go to restricted, eliminated industries or those explicitly prohibited by policies. The measures say national-level funds should support breakthroughs in key core technologies, emphasizing the need to address industrial weaknesses and development bottlenecks.

Local funds are directed to select investment directions in line with local industrial foundations and development realities.

The measures aim at solving the problems of mismatching between local resource endowments and industrial foundations, unclear fund positioning, and homogenization of investment directions during their establishment and operation.

According to government experts, they represent a milestone in standardizing the flow of funding for the optimization of China's high-quality development.

"The regulation is the first policy document jointly issued by relevant departments of the State Council regarding the planning and layout of government investment funds. It is also the first to put forth clear requirements at the national level for the allocation of these funds. This marks an important shift in China's management of government investment funds from extensive management to refined management. Additionally, it promotes a transition in the development of government investment funds from focusing on the quantity and scale of investments to emphasizing quality and effectiveness," said Zhao Huaiyong, director of the Department of Finance, Banking and Credit Construction at the National Development and Reform Commission.

China issues landmark regulation on allocation of government investment funds

Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez said on Sunday that the country is at a critical stage and must achieve national unity, emphasizing that maintaining internal cohesion is of utmost importance.

In a televised address, Rodriguez called on the public to continue trusting the government under the current highly complex political circumstances.

Her statement comes in the wake of a January 3 military operation conducted by the United States, during which Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were taken into custody and flown out of the country.

The operation resulted in at least 100 fatalities.

Rodriguez, who was sworn in as acting president two days later on January 5, framed her appeal for unity against this backdrop of external intervention.

Meanwhile, Venezuelan Minister of Communication and Information Freddy Nanez denounced the U.S. actions as a "war crime of the 21st century" when speaking at an international cultural event on Sunday.

Nanez condemned not only the January 3 airstrikes but also the associated cyber and electromagnetic attacks.

He accused the United States of violating international law through the forced removal of President Maduro and his wife, while attacks on civilian infrastructure, including medical facilities, represent a flagrant breach of humanitarian norms.

He reiterated that the stigmatization and military attacks against Venezuela are driven by economic interests, particularly the desire to control its abundant natural resources.

Venezuelan acting president calls for national unity amid complex situation