Opinion

1. Public satisfaction with quality markedly improved

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, China has made a great leap in quality development and achieved historic progress in building itself into a country of quality. The transformations from "Made in China" to "Created in China", from "China Speed" to "China Quality", and from "Chinese Products" to "Chinese Brands" have gained significant momentum. A range of major technical equipment, mega-projects, key consumer goods, and high-tech products in emerging fields have achieved internationally advanced quality standards. Service quality in commerce, tourism, finance, and logistics has seen marked improvement, significantly enhancing the public's sense of quality satisfaction.

2. Regulating local governments' investment promotion practices

At a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee held recently, policymakers called for deeper efforts to regulate local governments' investment promotion practices, so as to build a unified national market. Local governments should align with central policies, foster fair competition through standardized practices rather than short-term gains, and leverage regional strengths to create a healthy economic ecosystem.

Policy

1. Effective August 8, China will reinstate value-added tax on interest income from newly issued government bonds, local government bonds, and financial bonds, according to the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration.

2. The National Development and Reform Commission and National Health Commission have initiated a healthcare capacity-building project to address gaps in grassroots medical services. In 2025, approximately RMB 8.8 billion in central funds will support county-level hospitals and key township health care centers.

3. The State Administration for Market Regulation issued new compliance guidelines recently to regulate how online platforms charge merchants, targeting unreasonable fee practices including commissions, membership fees and service charges. The move aims to reduce the financial burden on platform users, promote self-regulation and enhance transparency in fee collection.

Data

1. According to data released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, residents on the Chinese mainland made about 3.3 billion tourist visits to domestic scenic spots in the first half of the year, marking a year-on-year rise of 20.6 percent.

2. Revenue of China's software sector grew 11.9 percent year on year to RMB 7.06 trillion in the first half of this year, showing steady profit growth alongside revenue expansion, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed.

3. China has maintained its position as the world's largest industrial robot market for 12 consecutive years with the sales volume rising from 70,000 units in 2015 to 302,000 units in 2024, according to the Chinese Institute of Electronics.

4. China's State Taxation Administration recently released value-added tax invoice data for the first half of 2025, revealing steady growth in sales revenues among businesses nationwide. Specifically, the data showed 8.9 percent and 11.9 percent year-on-year growth in equipment and high-tech manufacturing sales revenues. Consumer goods trade-ins also boosted demand for related products, with retail sales of household appliances showing 56.6 percent year-on-year growth.

5. Erenhot, the largest land port on the China-Mongolia border, recorded a milestone of 20,000 entry and exit China-Europe freight trains on August 3, as the 20000th train carrying 55 containers departed from the port. The service was firstly launched in 2013.

6. China's new energy vehicle penetration rate has been climbing steadily in recent years, which hit 44.3 percent in the first half of this year, an all-time high for the period, China Machinery Industry Federation said.

7. China's futures market reported double-digit year-on-year growth in trading turnover in July, according to the China Futures Association. The total trading turnover rose 36.03 percent year on year to RMB 71.31 trillion, and the trading volume of the market reached 1.059 billion lots, up 48.89 percent from a year ago.

8. Data from the State Administration for Market Regulation showed that 19,007 certified reference materials were approved and released by now. China is ranking among global leaders in international metrological mutual recognition capability for certified reference materials.

9. China's foreign exchange reserve stood at USD 3.2922 trillion by the end of July, according to data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

10. The volume of rail-water intermodal transport through China's ports surpassed 10,000 TEUs via the national railway freight service platform 95306, according to China Railway. The intermodal transportation has helped reduce logistics costs.

(Source: Economic Daily)