More localities expected to join digital yuan trials THE government is expected to soon approve the third batch of localities set to launch trials of its digital yuan currency, the Securities Times reported Wednesday. According to the newspaper, a number of cities and regions have applied to authorities for permission to roll out testing of the digital yuan. Applicants include Henan, Fujian and Heilongjiang provinces, as well as the cities of Guangzhou, Chongqing, Fuzhou and Xiamen, the paper reported. China has run public trials of its digital yuan in cities including Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen. Billionaire founder of Haidilao steps down as CEO HAIDILAO, which operates a chain of hotpot restaurants, said its billionaire founder Zhang Yong has stepped down as CEO and will shift his focus to long-term strategy planning. The move, which comes amid efforts by Haidilao to slash store numbers, has seen Yang Lijuan, 43, formerly deputy CEO and chief operating officer, take the helm as of March 1. Li Yu, 36, was named COO of its mainland operations while Wang Jinping, 38, was appointed COO of its operations in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and overseas. Zhang, 52, will retain the title of chairman. ZTE to focus on launching new 5G products: COO XIE JUNSHI, executive vice president and chief operating officer (COO) of ZTE Corp., said that the Shenzhen company will “focus on launching new 5G customer premises equipment products,” as well as its global Blade series of smartphones this year to ride the 5G wave. “I think 5G will bring very big changes to the whole ICT (information and communications technology) industry. ... Digitalization may become a kind of social vaccine in the post-pandemic era,” Xie said, adding that 5G industry applications can significantly reduce costs and improve efficiency. Tencent, Johnson & Johnson’s self care unit in ties TENCENT and Johnson & Johnson’s self care unit in China have formed a strategic partnership to collaborate in fields including patient education, product research and development, and digital innovation, the two companies said Thursday. The two companies will integrate their online and offline resources to offer online health care services and build a one-stop online pharmacy platform. Declan Rooney, president of Johnson & Johnson’s self care unit in China, said the partnership will enable the two firms to explore their way into digitalization of health care services. | 