By Xinhuanet| 2022-01-20 21:48:04

China has stepped up its pace of 5G development, adding 654,000 base stations in 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said Thursday.So far, nearly 1.43 million 5G base stations have been launched, Tian Yulong, chief engineer of the MIIT, told a press conference.The 5G network now covers all prefecture-level cities, more than 98 percent of county-level urban areas and 80 percent of township-level urban areas across the country, said Zhao Zhiguo, a spokesperson for the MIIT.Shipments of 5G phones in 2021 skyrocketed by 63.5 percent year on year to reach 266 million units, demonstrating a steady growth momentum, Zhao added.China's "5G + industrial internet" strategy has formed 20 application scenarios involving remote equipment control and quality inspection system using machine vision in 10 key fields including mining, steel and power industries, Zhao said, adding that it has provided an impetus for the transformation and upgrading of other sectors.This year, the ministry is committed to continuing the consolidation of 5G industrial foundations while advancing 5G network construction and promoting the development of 5G applications.

By Xinhuanet| 2022-01-19 21:39:28

East China's economic powerhouse Jiangsu Province saw its foreign trade surge to a record-high 5.21 trillion yuan (about 821 billion U.S. dollars) in 2021, up 17.1 percent year on year, customs data showed Wednesday.The number accounted for 13.3 percent of China's total imports and exports value during the period.Jiangsu's exports increased 18.6 percent year on year to 3.25 trillion yuan in 2021, while imports grew to 1.96 trillion yuan, up 14.8 percent from a year ago.The European Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the United States, the Republic of Korea and Japan were Jiangsu's major trading partners in 2021 and the province's trade value with countries and regions along the Belt and Road reached 1.32 trillion yuan, an increase of 22 percent from the previous year. 

By Xinhuanet| 2022-01-18 22:35:49

China has unveiled a plan outlining major targets for transportation network development in the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025).High-speed railways will stretch to a total length of 50,000 kilometers in 2025, up from 38,000 kilometers in 2020, and 250-km ones are expected to cover 95 percent of cities with populations above 500,000, per the document released by the State Council.The country will have 165,000 kilometers of railways in 2025, up from 146,000 kilometers five years earlier; more than 270 civil airports, up from 241; 10,000 kilometers of subway lines in cities, up from 6,600 kilometers; 190,000 kilometers of expressways, up from 161,000 kilometers; and 18,500 kilometers of high-level inland waterways, up from 16,100 kilometers.The transportation system will also be greener. Cities will see 72 percent of buses running on new energy, an improvement from 66.2 percent, and the carbon dioxide emission intensity of the transportation sector will be decreased by 5 percent.The main goal is to achieve integrated development in 2025, with tangible breakthroughs in the intelligent and green transformation of the transportation system, according to the plan.Looking to 2035, the plan aims to build "1-2-3 circles" for passenger trips and the transportation of goods.That means travel time within cities and city clusters, and among metropolises will be cut to one hour, two hours and three hours, respectively. It will be possible for mail sent by express services to be delivered in as short a time as one day within China, two days when sent to neighboring countries, and three days when sent to major cities globally.In 2025, grain, energy and ore transportation safety in major channels will have a stronger guarantee, and international logistics supply chains will be better protected, according to the plan.International connectivity will also be improved, the plan said, specifying efforts to enhance transportation infrastructure with neighboring countries, push for the high-quality development of China-Europe freight train routes, and build an "Air Silk Road," among others. 

By Xinhuanet| 2022-01-17 20:14:30

Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality saw its foreign trade exceeding 800 billion yuan (about 125.8 billion U.S. dollars) in 2021, an increase of 22.8 percent from the previous year, the city's customs authorities said Monday.Chongqing's foreign trade has maintained double-digit growth since 2018, it added. The city's exports rose 23.4 percent year on year in 2021 to 516.8 billion yuan, while imports totaled 283.2 billion yuan, up 21.7 percent from a year ago.Of the total, Chongqing's trade volume with economies involved in the Belt and Road Initiative reached 220.7 billion yuan in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 26 percent. Meanwhile, trade between Chongqing and 14 other member countries under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was 236.8 billion yuan in 2021, an increase of 15.9 percent year on year and accounting for 29.6 percent of the city's total foreign trade.Private enterprises have continued to make more contributions to foreign trade in Chongqing. The foreign trade of private enterprises in the city in 2021 reached 349.4 billion yuan. It was an increase of 40 percent from the previous year and took up a 43.7-percent share of the total.Chongqing's major exported commodities include notebook computers, integrated circuits, tablet computers, and motorbikes. In 2021, the export value of notebook computers in Chongqing was 200.1 billion yuan, ranking first in China for three consecutive years. 

By Xinhuanet| 2022-01-15 08:49:00

The annual cargo throughput of China's busiest port, the Port of Ningbo Zhoushan in the eastern province of Zhejiang, reached a record high of 1.2 billion tonnes in 2021, up 4.4 percent year on year, the provincial port and navigation management center said Friday.The port has held the world's highest cargo throughput record for 13 consecutive years, while its container throughput surpassed 31 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2021, ranking third globally, an 8.2 percent year-on-year increase.By the end of 2021, the sea routes of the port totaled 287, with an increase of 27 routes from the end of 2020. 

By Xinhuanet| 2022-01-14 21:21:25

China's foreign trade moved up another notch in 2021, exceeding 6 trillion U.S. dollars for the first time, despite the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to weigh on global trade, official data showed Friday.The total trade in goods amounted to 6.05 trillion U.S. dollars, up 1.4 trillion U.S. dollars from a year ago, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).The trade volume in yuan terms expanded 21.4 percent year on year to 39.1 trillion yuan, with exports up 21.2 percent to 21.73 trillion yuan and imports up 21.5 percent to 17.37 trillion yuan."China has been at the forefront of economic development and pandemic response globally, and maintained rapid growth in foreign trade, which registered a record high in volume and steady progress in quality," GAC spokesperson Li Kuiwen said.The country's imports and exports with its top three trading partners -- ASEAN, the European Union and the United States -- gained 19.7 percent, 19.1 percent and 20.2 percent, respectively, while its trade with Japan and the Republic of Korea climbed 9.4 percent and 18.4 percent.The trade volume with economies involved in the Belt and Road Initiative reported a higher-than-average increase of 23.6 percent.China's hard-won trade growth came as a resurgence in COVID-19 infections, dominated by the Delta and Omicron variants, dealt a major blow to the global supply chain and seriously disrupted the flow of goods.While many parts of the world grappled with closed factories and congestion at ports and railway stations, China, the first to recover from the pandemic shock, transported badly-needed products, from daily necessities to electronics and medicines, swiftly and safely to marketplaces across the globe.China's exports of medical materials and medicines more than doubled last year, and products related to the stay-at-home economy, such as laptops and home appliances, witnessed a 13.2-percent increase following an already-strong growth in 2020.The hundreds of millions of face masks, protective suits, test kits and vaccine doses provided by China to the global community since the COVID-19 outbreak have helped fight the pandemic and facilitated the global economic recovery, Li said.Meanwhile, the country's robust imports also gave a boost to economies around the world that were still reeling from the pandemic.In 2021, China's purchases of intermediate and consumer products overseas gained 24.9 percent and 9.9 percent, respectively, from a year ago in 2021, the GAC data shows. The country's imports accounted for 12.1 percent of the world's total in the first three quarters of 2021, up 0.5 percentage points from a year ago."China's wider opening-up allowed the world to enjoy more dividends of its economic growth and prosperous consumption," Li said. The country became the world's second-largest importer in 2009.Friday's data also added to the evidence of a resilient Chinese economy and reassured global investors and observers that the country remains a powerful engine of global growth and development.Buoyant exports have become a pillar of China's economy, said Zhang Zhiwei, chief economist of Pinpoint Asset Management.China's foreign trade reached the 4-trillion-USD mark in 2013 and surpassed 5 trillion and 6 trillion U.S. dollars at one go in 2021. The trade increment last year equals the total volume in 2005.Thanks to the dynamic trade, the Chinese economy was expected to have ended 2021 on a strong note and will get off to a good start this year. In its latest predictions, the World Bank put China's real GDP growth for 2021 at an estimated 8 percent, moderating mildly in 2022 to a still-solid 5.1 percent."The country's exports will remain strong in the first quarter of this year as global demand remains robust and the pandemic worsens in many developing countries," Zhang said.The National Bureau of Statistics will on Monday release a series of economic indicators for 2021, including the country's GDP, industrial output, fixed-asset investment and retail sales.Despite a satisfactory 2021, Li pointed out that China's foreign trade will face rising uncertainty and instability this year as the pandemic remains serious around the globe and the recovery in global demand is slowing down."Given these difficulties and challenges, we should recognize that China's economy is resilient and its sound long-term fundamentals will remain unchanged," Li said, voicing undented confidence in stabilizing foreign trade.The Chinese government unveiled new guidelines on Tuesday to ease pressures on foreign-trade companies and keep exports and imports stable.The guidelines detail measures including fiscal and financial support for foreign-trade companies, incentives for new forms of businesses, and efforts to ease the supply-chain risks and further enhance trade liberalization and facilitation.Also good news for China's efforts to maintain trade growth, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, signed by 15 Asia-Pacific countries including China, entered into force on Jan. 1, creating the world's largest trade bloc.China's imports and exports with the other 14 RCEP members combined went up 18.1 percent year on year to 12.07 trillion yuan in 2021, accounting for 30.9 percent of the country's total foreign trade.

By Xinhuanet| 2022-01-13 20:13:32

China ranked first globally in terms of the sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) for a seventh straight year in 2021, despite economic uncertainties and supply-chain pressure, official data showed Wednesday.The country's NEV sales came in at 3.52 million units last year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT)."China's NEV sector maintained sound growth momentum in production and sales last year," said Fu Bingfeng, secretary general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, emphasizing the importance of robust NEV sales in underpinning the demand of China's auto market.China's NEV exports, in particular, posted a strong performance last year, with 310,000 units exported.The booming sales of NEVs came after the gradual improvement of supporting infrastructure in the country. By the end of 2021, China has built 75,000 charging stations, 2.62 million charging piles, and 1,298 battery replacement stations.However, China's NEV sector still faces pressure from international competitors and challenges to stabilize its industrial and supply chains, said Guo Shougang, an MIIT official.Guo urged local authorities to roll out more preferential policies for NEV parking and charging, and to improve policies on car purchase, so as to create a sound environment for boosting NEV sales.He added that the ministry will step up efforts on building more battery charging facilities in 2022.Wednesday's data also showed that China's auto output and sales rose 3.4 percent and 3.8 percent in 2021 from a year ago, respectively, ending a streak of three consecutive years of decline. 

By Xinhuanet| 2022-01-12 21:41:10

China ranked first globally in terms of the sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) for a seventh straight year in 2021, despite economic uncertainties and supply-chain pressure, official data showed Wednesday.The country's NEV sales came in at 3.52 million units last year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT)."China's NEV sector maintained sound growth momentum in production and sales last year," said Fu Bingfeng, secretary general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, emphasizing the importance of robust NEV sales in underpinning the demand of China's auto market.China's NEV exports, in particular, posted a strong performance last year, with 310,000 units exported.The booming sales of NEVs came after the gradual improvement of supporting infrastructure in the country. By the end of 2021, China has built 75,000 charging stations, 2.62 million charging piles, and 1,298 battery replacement stations.However, China's NEV sector still faces pressure from international competitors and challenges to stabilize its industrial and supply chains, said Guo Shougang, an MIIT official.Guo urged local authorities to roll out more preferential policies for NEV parking and charging, and to improve policies on car purchase, so as to create a sound environment for boosting NEV sales.He added that the ministry will step up efforts on building more battery charging facilities in 2022.Wednesday's data also showed that China's auto output and sales rose 3.4 percent and 3.8 percent in 2021 from a year ago, respectively, ending a streak of three consecutive years of decline. 

By Xinhuanet| 2022-01-12 08:52:07

China on Tuesday unveiled new guidelines to ease pressures on foreign trade companies and keep the country's exports and imports stable.The country will further open up the economy and carry out cross-cyclical adjustments to support medium, small and micro-sized foreign trade companies, and guarantee their orders and stabilize expectations, according to the guidelines on further stabilizing foreign trade released by the State Council.The guidelines detailed 15 measures including fiscal and financial support for foreign trade companies as well as incentives for new forms of businesses in foreign trade.According to the document, the yuan exchange rate will be kept stable at a reasonable and balanced level, and the country will help foreign trade companies hedge against foreign exchange risks.China will also adopt measures to ease the supply chain risks for foreign trade companies and encourage them to sign long-term deals with shipping firms.The guidelines stressed efforts on imports of bulk commodities to ensure sufficient domestic supply.The country will further enhance trade liberalization and facilitation, and take the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership as an opportunity to further stabilize foreign trade, the guidelines stated. ■

By Xinhuanet| 2022-01-12 08:50:36

SAIC-GM-Wuling (SGMW), a major Chinese automobile manufacturer, reported strong sales in 2021.Vehicle sales of SGMW, located in Liuzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, surpassed 1.76 million units last year, up 13.5 percent year on year, according to the company.The sales of its new energy vehicles (NEVs) also posted robust growth, soaring 160 percent year on year to 452,238 units throughout the year.Among the NEV brands, Hongguang MINIEV achieved total sales of over 550,000 units, ranking first in terms of sales in the Chinese NEV market for 16 consecutive months.SGMW also reported record sales in overseas markets in 2021, with its exports of finished motor vehicles and auto parts to 40 countries rising 88 percent year on year. ■