Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI. Coming up on today’s program · China steps up efforts to set standards for auto chips amid fierce competition; · China expects record air travel demand in Lunar New Year Holiday. Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours  China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on Monday released a sweeping plan to accelerate the establishment of standards for automotive chips, in a bid to further boost research and development (R&D) of the critical product amid increasing international competition. The move comes after China became the world’s biggest car exporter in 2023, thanks to its rapidly rising new-energy vehicle (NEV) sector, and as China continues to counter the US-initiated chip war and build a sound and safe industrial supply chain for critical components not just for cars but also other high-tech products.  The plan aims to establish a complete set of standards, so as to guide and promote the development and application of China’s automotive chip technology, cultivate an independent innovation environment, enhance overall technological capabilities and competitiveness, and create a safe, open and sustainable ecosystem, the MIIT said.  Notably, the plan said that China will set up more than 30 critical standards by 2025, covering areas such as reliability, electromagnetic compatibility and operational and information security. This will meet the basic needs for safe and reliable application of auto chips, the MIIT said.  By 2030, China will establish more than 70 standards for the auto chip sector, which will further improve the general requirements for the application of auto chips and other aspects, according to the plan.  Amid fierce international competition and the US’ attempts to deprive China of advanced chips, a sound and reliable domestic auto chip industry is critical for China’s rising NEV sector, which requires a rapidly increasing number of chips.  In 2012, NEVs generally used less than 600 chips on average, but that number jumped to 1,459 in 2022, according to industry data. And as the NEV sector becomes more mature, increasingly advanced chips are required.    China has taken the lead in the global NEV market. In the first 11 months of 2023, China's exports of NEVs jumped 83.5 percent year-on-year to 1.09 million units, which greatly contributed to China’s total car exports of 4.41 million units, surpassing that of Japan and making China the world’s biggest car exporter.  Moving on to regional highlights · Sales of new and pre-owned apartments in Shanghai bounced back in December last year after the metropolis introduced a series of policies to spur the property market. As many as 15,300 pre-owned apartments changed hands last month, a gain of 9 percent from November and a jump of 23 percent from a year ago, according to data released by think tank Shanghai Lianjia Research Institute today. The transaction value of these apartments soared 16 percent month on month and 26 percent year on year to 54.6 billion yuan. Greater Bay Area, Greater future · Guangzhou has officially become China's first tier-1 city to introduce housing vouchers to compensate residents displaced under urban-renewal efforts. The southern metropolis issued the first batch of such vouchers in Liwan District last Friday. According to the terms, residents or their immediate family can use the voucher when they purchase a first-hand property listed on the city’s government-run housing website. An official with Guangzhou's bureau of planning and natural resources said on Monday that the housing vouchers are subject to a maximum of 18 months of validity, which can be transferred once or redeemed after expiration. · Meituan has become Hong Kong’s second-largest food delivery platform since its launch in the city last May. The internet firm’s sister app “KeeTa” accounted for 37 percent of the local food delivery market in December