The State Bank and the Ministry of Agriculture took measures to raise the mandatory support price for farmers, trying to increase next year's cane yield.

FORBES: Companies, People, Ideas

But he refuses to sign onto mandatory emission-reduction obligations, preferring to encourage the development of new technologies and other voluntary measures, and won't participate in any talks toward a global agreement that do not include energy guzzlers from the developing world.

NPR: Bush Calls for Goal on Reducing Greenhouse Gases

In a sign of the growing severity of the problem, the new regulations published on Saturday describe "emergency measures" for days when pollution becomes a "danger to human health", including mandatory factory closures and restrictions on vehicles.

CNN: Beijing tries to clean up its act

The measures in their current form still leave a lot of questions open, and as a result regulators have reportedly been flooded with comments on the draft measures from companies seeking to influence the process now rather than wait to comply with more unfavorable mandatory rules in the future.

FORBES: China: Seeking Balance In Regulating Data Privacy