China plans to launch Shijian-13, its first high-throughput communications satellite, in April, the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) said Friday.

The 4.6-tonne satellite, with a message capacity of more than 20 GB, will be carried into orbit by a Long March-3B carrier rocket, according to the CAST.

An increase in satellite throughput will provide better access to the Internet on planes and high-speed trains, said Wang Min, deputy head of the CAST’s Institute of Telecommunication Satellite.

For the first time, a large number of domestic components have been used on a communications satellite with an orbital life of 15 years, Wang said. It is also the first time electric propulsion has been used on a Chinese satellite.

Shijian-13 has been transported to the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China’s Sichuan Province. After completing in-orbit technical tests, it will be designated as Zhongxing-16.

In 2017, China plans to launch six communications satellites, including Shijian-13 and Shijian-18.

Shijian-18 will be put into orbit by a Long March-5 carrier rocket in June, and will test the DFH-5 satellite platform, Wang said.

China will use public-private partnerships (PPP) to boost under-funded rural infrastructure and narrow the urban-rural gap, according to a State Council guideline.

A dynamic financing program that enlists multiple public and private entities will be established by 2020, said the guideline made public on Friday.

Under the program, government spending will be complemented by PPPs to maintain steady investment growth, while state-owned enterprises and other private market players will be encouraged to sponsor the projects.

China has launched many rural infrastructure projects over the last few years but the generally underdeveloped infrastructure in rural areas is holding back the goal to build a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way by 2020.

To improve water, road, electricity and communication facilities in rural areas, the government has promised some 3.4 trillion yuan (495.2 billion U.S. dollars) between 2016 and 2020, said Tang Renjian, deputy director of the central rural work leading group.

Only one third of this fund has been secured, however, meaning private investment and PPPs will need to step up, he said, in an earlier elaboration of China’s first central policy document in 2017 on rural issues.

PPPs will stimulate investment as the country ensures moderate growth in fiscal support for agriculture and rural areas, Tang said.

President Xi Jinping has called for all Chinese, whether at home or abroad, to unite toward achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Xi made the remarks in a written instruction delivered at a national meeting on overseas Chinese affairs held in Beijing Friday.

It has been a key task for the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the state to encourage overseas Chinese as well as returned Chinese and their relatives to play a positive role in realizing the great revival of the Chinese nation, said Xi, who is also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee.

Xi acknowledged that Party committees, governments and authorities working for overseas Chinese affairs at all levels play an important part in protecting the rights of such groups, as they support the nation’s development and peaceful reunification, and boost friendly cooperation between China and other countries.

Xi called on people working for overseas Chinese affairs to make the most of the strength of returned overseas Chinese and those still residing abroad, in a bid to make greater contribution to realizing the country’s “two centenary goals” and the Chinese dream of great national renewal.

Premier Li Keqiang called on government departments in charge of overseas Chinese affairs to unite closely around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core throughout the 13th Five-Year Plan period, urging them to play a greater role in national economic and social development and in promoting national reunification, according to his written instruction read at the same meeting.

The meeting also honored outstanding entities and individuals from overseas Chinese affairs authorities nationwide.

President Xi Jinping on Friday called for an overall national security outlook at a seminar in Beijing, emphasizing security concerns related to politics, the economy, sovereignty, society, and the Internet, among others.

Xi, who heads the National Security Commission (NSC), presided over the seminar on national security on Friday. Premier Li Keqiang and top legislator Zhang Dejiang, the two deputy heads of the NSC, were present at the seminar.

Xu Feifei, an 11-year-old boy from Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, suffered from a sudden acute eye disease which has almost led to blindness. The whole ailment was caused by excessive eye fatigue during the winter vacation, during which he played computer games for a continuous 10 days and nights.

Many youngsters in China nowadays are increasingly indulged in computer games and other electronic products, and are unable to extricate themselves. This is followed by a series of health problems, with the most typical case being myopia, or nearsightedness.

According to the latest research report released by the World Health Organization (WHO), the nearsightedness rate among Chinese juveniles ranks first in the world – 70 percent of high school and college students. The rate is nearly 40 percent in primary school students, while it is only 10 percent for their peers in the United States.

The WHO research report says that the number of nearsighted people in China has reached 600 million, nearly approaching half of the country’s total population.

Experts attribute the soaring nearsightedness rate in China to the unhealthy lifestyles and learning styles which parents impose on their children.

On the one hand, to achieve high scores in exams, children spend too much time indoors studying and have not enough time outside in the sunlight. On the other hand, a growing number of high-tech products, such as smart phones and tablet PCs, make children focus their eyes and attention on fluorescent screens for long periods of time, resulting in excessive eye fatigue.

Experts suggest that youngsters maintain a proper balance between study and rest so as to protect their eyesight, and parents should play a correspondingly active role in the process.