One hundred and fifty-two oncologists from across China formed a working group on Friday to identify genetic faults that can increase the risk of cancer.

The group plans to set up a national database of patients who might have developed cancer because of faulty genes.

They will then compile the country’s first clinical guidelines on hereditary cancer and assess the effectiveness of targeted cancer therapies designed to destroy certain types of the faulty genes.

Beijing Cancer Hospital President Ji Jiafu said breast, ovarian and gastric cancer patients tend to have strong family history of the disease, but more research needs to be done.

He said people with faulty genes are more likely to develop cancer at a younger age and do not necessarily show early signs of illness. The identification of these genes may help people born with higher cancer risks detect cell mutation at an earlier stage.

Early intervention is vital in curing certain types of cancer, most notably glandular and breast cancer, and is helpful in improving quality of life for patients with most other types of cancer.

Latest statistics from national tumor register center shows that 271 in every 100,000 people develop cancer in China. In 2013 alone, 2.2 million Chinese died of cancer. Lung, liver and gastric cancer were the top three killers.

Beijing municipal government has set a goal of converting 57 percent of the city’s household waste into energy.

This waste-to-energy conversion will be carried out at six garbage treatment plants to be opened this year, according to Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Management.

Commission director Sun Xinjun said Friday that the commission’s priority this year is to encourage residents to create less waste, improve waste sorting and boost waste-to-energy conversion.

The most common conversion process generates electricity or heat directly through combustion, while some also use industrial processing to produce combustible fuels like methane and ethanol. This supplies energy and reduces carbon emissions.

With 21.7 million permanent residents, Beijing’s massive amount of household waste has a profound impact on the environment. Beijing aims to raise its garbage treatment capacity to 30,000 tonnes a day by 2020 — 24,000 tonnes being incinerated while the rest will undergo biological treatment. No untreated waste will be buried.

Lin Jinwen, another official with the commission, said Beijing will reduce waste sorting bins from three categories to two. One will be labeled “kitchen waste” with the other for the rest of household waste. The bins labeled “recyclable” will no longer be displayed to avoid confusion.

Lin said the city will distribute guidebooks and host training to help the public sort their daily garbage. As the campaign starts, there will even be helpers assigned to stand by community trash bins to help confused residents.

Waste sorting bins will spread from residential communities to companies, government offices, shopping malls and other public venues in the next few years.

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.