A consumer buys medicine at a drug store in Taiyuan， capital of Shanxi Province， on April 11.

A multi-departmental effort has been introduced to give the public better access to commonly used medications at a more reasonable price. A list of such drugs is expected to be publicized by June， and manufacturers will be entitled to the right of pricing according to production costs and the market situation.

The initiative comes in response to a series of shortages of commonly used and low-priced drugs. Under the new initiative， producers of the listed drugs will enjoy more freedom to price the medicine.

Purified Seawater

Construction of a desalination project that will deliver purified seawater to Beijing from its neighboring Hebei Provinces coast will start at the end of the year， local authorities announced on April 16.

The project will be located in Caofeidian， the second largest port in Hebei， with a daily desalination capacity of 1 million tons of seawater， said Wang Xiaoshui， director of the seawater desalination department of Beijing Enterprises Water Group Ltd.

After the project goes into operation in 2019， Beijing will receive more than 300 million cubic meters of desalted Bohai seawater annually， about 10 percent of its current water consumption volume.

“Beijing residents will be able to enjoy desalinated seawater，” said Wang.

The project will include a facility and a 270-km-long pipeline extending to Beijing.

University Cooperation

Duke Kunshan University （DKU）， a SinoAmerican joint venture university in east Chinas Jiangsu Province， will officially open in August， local authorities said on April 15.

DKU， in the city of Kunshan， was jointly created by U.S.-based Duke University and Wuhan University in Chinas Hubei Province. The Ministry of Education formally approved its establishment last September.

“We plan to enroll the first 100 students， including 50 Chinese， offering masters degree programs in global health， medical physics and management studies. Graduates will be granted degrees from Duke University，” said Liu Jingnan， chancellor of DKU.

In addition to academic degree programs， the university will provide non-degree courses for undergraduate students. Students who successfully complete the program will receive Duke University course credit that can be transferred to other degree-granting institutions.

China currently has about 1，500 Sino-foreign joint institutions and programs， including Shanghai New York University， Wenzhou-Kean University and DKU.

Crop Insurance

China will intensify its efforts to promote crop insurance， with insured farm produce expected to cover 60 percent of the countrys cultivated land by 2020， the countrys top insurance regulator said on April 14.

The country will improve its crop insurance mechanisms， especially services for the animal husbandry and planting sector， in a bid to guarantee food security， said Wang Zuji， deputy head of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

Insurers will be encouraged to cover farm produce prices， rural houses and infrastructure， according to Wang.

The bureau is also considering subsidies for insurers to promote agriculture-related business， he said.

China had 1.11 billion mu （74 million hectares） of crops insured last year， accounting for 45 percent of the overall seeded area. A total of 33.67 million rural households received combined compensation worth 20.9 billion yuan（$3.4 billion）.

Robot Replacement

Guangzhou， south Chinas economic powerhouse， has set a goal of having 80 percent of the citys manufacturing production done by robots instead of human labor by 2020.

According to an industrial development guideline issued by the Guangzhou Municipal Government on April 15， the use of industrial robots will be encouraged in mechanical and automobile manufacturing， food processing and the manufacturing of pharmaceutical， electronic and dangerous products.

The document says that there will be subsidies of up to 30，000 yuan（$4，800） for those who purchase or rent a robot， and a maximum one-off subsidy of 500，000 yuan （$82，000） for companies that introduce a complete set of automation equipment in Guangzhou， capital of Guangdong Province.

The municipal government believes the rising human resource costs and increased demand for sophisticated manufacturing have provided an opportunity for an accelerated roll-out of robots.

Electricity on Everest

The base camp at Mount Qomolangma， also known as Mount Everest， which is located at 5，200 meters above sea level， now has access to reliable electricity， the Tibet Branch of the State Grid Corp. of China said on April 16.

More than 160，000 people in the four counties at the foot of Mount Qomolangma will benefit from the project， which cost 570 million yuan（$92.7 million）.