Society

China is relaxing its visa rules for foreign workers to attract global talent to rev up its growth.A new pilot programme unveiled by the Ministry of Public Security this past week allows anyone who has been employed in China for at least two consecutive years to apply for a five-year work permit.

Earlier, most foreign employees had to apply for a new work permit every year, even when hired on multiyear contracts.

The trial programme is expected to be rolled out in coming months in “demonstration zones for innovative reform” in a total of nine cities and province-level governments, including Beijing, Wuhan and Hebei province, and 11 free trade zones, including those in Tianjin, Chongqing and Henan province.

The new policy of collecting foreign passport holders' fingerprints upon their arrival in China went into effect on Friday in pilot ports of entry including Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport.

The policy will be rolled out in other ports across the country by the end of this year, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

Foreigners ages 14 to 70 are fingerprinted upon entering China. Diplomatic passport holders and beneficiaries of reciprocal agreements are exempted.

Beijing plans to establish an environmental police force by the end of March, amid tightened controls on air pollution, the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau said after the capital and other northern cities are engulfed by a new bout of smog.

The smog descended on Sunday across northern and central regions, including Beijing and Tianjin as well as the provinces of Hebei, Shandong and Henan, with the pollution due to worsen, reaching hazardous levels on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to Li Jianjun, director of the environmental pre-warning department at China National Environmental Monitoring Center.

Public Toilet in Chengdu 2016

China said it will boost investment in tourism, with plans to develop rustbelt regions and upgrade public toilets high on its to-do list as it looks to lift the sector's contribution to economic growth.