1. Growing foreign trade shows China's economic resilience

 

China's economy is off to a strong start thanks in part to the country's robust foreign trade. More favorable conditions have been created to stabilize and upgrade foreign trade. China will also adopt more proactive measures to expand institutional opening up and consolidate the foundations of the economy.

 

2. Accelerate the layout of artificial intelligence industry

 

The rapid progress of artificial intelligence technology and related industrial development is the key national strategic project. It has also emerged as a new industry track that competitors are vying for. Many regions actively develop new businesses, models, and industries of artificial intelligence based on its own conditions, speed up the cultivation of industrial clusters and upgrade the industrial eco-system. The artificial intelligence industry is shaping the advancement of digital economy.

 

 

1. The National Development and Reform Commission issued the "Action Plan for High Quality Development of State-level New Areas" on March 15 to promote the efforts to create a pioneering area for high quality development, a highland for reform and opening up, and a benchmark for urban construction.

 

2.The newly constructed buildings in China will fully implement the green building standards by 2025, according to the National Development and Reform Commission. Among them, the construction areas of buildings with ultra-low or nearly zero energy consumption in urban areas increased by more than 200 million square meters compared with 2023, and the rate of renewable energy alternative to conventional energy for urban buildings will reach 8 percent.

 

3.The National Financial Regulatory Administration published a series of measures on March 18 that lifted the access threshold of consumer finance companies, stepped up regulatory rules, and enhanced the protection of consumer rights. According to the official document, the main investor of a new firm providing consumer loans needs to hold a stake of at least 50 percent, up from 30 percent previously.

 

 

1.Data from Shanghai Customs showed that in the first two months of 2024, the value of foreign trade in Yangtze River Delta region totaled RMB 2.47 trillion, up 10.5 percent year on year, marking a record high.

 

2.The total natural gas production in CNPC Tarim Keshen oilfield, China's first ultra-deep oilfield in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, exceeded 80 billion cubic meters as of March 14.

 

3.According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), in February, the scale of China's civil aviation transport hit a record high. The total transport turnover of the civil aviation industry reached 11.64 billion Tonne-Kilometers, an increase of 46.8 percent year on year. The turnover increased by 20.7 percent over the same period of 2019, and the growth rate was 11.4 percent points higher compared with that of January.

 

4.On March 17, a freight train left Qinzhou railway container central station in Guangxi for Chengxiang transmission and distribution station in Sichuan, carrying goods imported from Southeast Asian countries. It is the 2000th rail-sea intermodal train trip of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor in China's western region.

 

5.According to National Bureau of Statistics, from January to February, the total value added of China's industrial enterprises above the designated size increased by 7.0 percent year on year, 0.2 percentage point higher compared with December of last year. The Index of Services Production grew by 5.8 percent year on year, and the total retail sales of consumer goods reached RMB 8,130.7 billion, up 5.5 percent year on year.

 

6.In 2023, China has expanded its charging facilities for electric vehicles by adding 929,000 new charging piles, an increase of 42.7 percent year on year. As of the end of 2023, China's charging facilities totaled 8.6 million, up 65 percent year on year. Thus Chins has built the charging infrastructure network with the world's largest number, and widest scope in terms of service area and vehicle types. 

 

7.The People's Bank of China issued an e-CNY (digital yuan) user guide recently. The e-CNY wallet can be registered using mobile phone numbers from over 210 countries and regions.

 

8.According to preliminary statistics, the total assets of China's financial institutions reached RMB 461.09 trillion at the end of 2023, increasing 9.9 percent year on year. Specifically, the assets of banking institutions registered RMB 417.29 trillion, increasing 10 percent year on year, as data from the People's Bank of China showed.

 

9.Power utility in the first two months of 2024 in China climbed 11 percent year on year to 1,531.6 billion kilowatt-hours, and among them, 1,487.0 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity were generated by industrial enterprises above the designated size, said the National Energy Administration. 

 

10.China's gross ocean product reached RMB 9,909.7 billion in 2023, up 6.0 percent year on year, with the growth rate 0.8 percentage point higher than that of GDP, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources.

 

(Source: Economic Daily)