By Xinhuanet| 2022-01-10 23:38:38

China's steel output declined in 2021 amid the country's endeavor to achieve carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals.The country produced an estimate of 1.03 billion tonnes of steel last year, down 35 million tonnes from 2020, said the China Iron and Steel Association on Monday.In the first 11 months of 2021, China's steel production reached 946 million tonnes, decreasing 2.6 percent year on year.The steel and iron industry's combined profits surged 86.46 percent, year on year, to 351.7 billion yuan (about 55.25 billion U.S. dollars) during the January-November period last year as rising costs and demand pushed up prices.Enterprises in the industry accelerated green and low-carbon transformation last year, with considerable reduction in energy consumption and sulfur dioxide emissions per tonne of steel produced, said the association.This year, while investment in the real estate sector is expected to slow down but infrastructure investment will pick up, the total steel demand is likely to remain the same as last year, according to the association.

By Xinhuanet| 2022-01-09 14:38:22

China's home appliance sector saw output growth in the first 11 months last year, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed.During the period, the output of air conditioners and washing machines totaled 197.41 million and 78.33 million sets, respectively, up 11.4 percent and 11.1 percent year on year.Going against the trend, China's refrigerator makers saw their output fall 0.2 percent year on year to 82.53 million sets during the period, the ministry said.In November alone, China's air conditioner output came in at 16.63 million sets, up 3.7 percent year on year, while the output of washing machines saw a 1.5 percent yearly drop to total 8.44 million sets, according to the ministry.

By Xinhuanet| 2022-01-08 23:24:26

China's logistics activity posted a slower expansion last month, data from the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) showed.The logistics performance index, which tracks business volume, new orders, employment, inventory turnovers and equipment utility rates in the sector, came in at 52.6 percent in December 2021, down 1 percentage point from the previous month.A reading above 50 percent indicates expansion while a reading below 50 reflects contraction.Despite a decrease from a month earlier, the index remained in the expansion zone, with railway transport and courier services maintaining fast growth, the CFLP noted.The sub-index for new orders came in at 51.6 percent, and the sub-index for business activity expectations stood at 53.4 percent. This indicated that companies are generally upbeat about market prospects in the near future, according to the federation.The index scored an annual average of 53.4 percent in 2021, up 1.7 percentage points from the previous year, said the CFLP. 

By Xinhuanet| 2022-01-07 20:47:23

Construction of 142 projects involving a total investment of 37.3 billion yuan (about 5.85 billion U.S. dollars) started Thursday in south China's Hainan free trade port.The projects include 49 industrial projects, or 65 percent of the total, with a combined input of 24.4 billion yuan.A batch of major scientific research projects were among the highlights of the announced industrial projects.An advanced technology and industrial innovation platform is expected to be built in Hainan's Sanya, helping to integrate technology centers covering research on intelligent electromechanical equipment, marine information detection, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) micro-nano satellites and deep-sea engineering.China's Shenergy Group plans to invest 1 billion yuan in a wind power equipment project in the Yangpu Economic Development Zone of the tropical island province. The comprehensive project will cover the fields of high-end equipment manufacturing, offshore wind power, marine pasture and seawater carbon capture. Under the framework of the project, an offshore wind turbine production line is expected to reach an annual output value of about 5 billion yuan.China released a master plan in June 2020 to build the island province of Hainan into a globally influential and high-level free trade port by the middle of the century. Enditem

By Xinhuanet| 2022-01-06 20:12:29

The entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement is a major victory for multilateralism and free trade, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday.Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a daily news briefing when asked to comment on the RCEP's rollout, noting that China will work with all parties to take an active part in the RCEP's institution building while making positive contributions to regional prosperity and global economic recovery.Noting that the RCEP is the world's largest free-trade pact, he said that the RCEP's coming into force will unleash huge potential for trade growth in the region and represents a major step forward in promoting global trade and investment liberalization and facilitation."In addition to tariff reduction, the RCEP has also set a benchmark for economic and trade rules in the Asia-Pacific region," said Wang, adding that the RCEP's commitment to high-level opening-up concerning trade and investment in services will facilitate the smooth flow of various economic factors, while further developing the industrial, supply and value chains in the region.The RCEP has simplified administrative procedures and reduced trade barriers, and this will give a strong boost to higher-quality and deeper regional economic integration, said the spokesperson.The entry into force of the RCEP is a major victory for multilateralism and free trade, said Wang, adding that openness and integration are the trend of the times in the post-pandemic era.As one of the first countries to complete the procedures for RCEP ratification, China has always upheld the multilateral trading system and promoted regional economic integration to boost regional trade and investment with firm determination and concrete actions, said Wang.He added that China will work with all parties to actively participate in the RCEP's institution building, jointly promote the overall implementation of the agreement, and make positive contributions to promoting regional prosperity and global economic recovery. Enditem

By Xinhuanet| 2022-01-05 17:38:35

Beibu Gulf Port in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region saw its cargo throughput rise 18.8 percent year on year to more than 6 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers in 2021.It is the first time for the port to reach such a scale of cargo throughput after five consecutive years of double-digit growth. The port's leading source and destination of goods is the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) members, said the Beibu Gulf Port Group.Starting from Jan. 1, 2022, the RCEP agreement, the world's largest free trade agreement, entered into force. After the agreement takes effect, more than 90 percent of merchandise trade among members that have approved the agreement will eventually be subject to zero tariffs.To embrace the opportunities brought by the new agreement, the port added more than 20 million tonnes of capacity in terms of transporting cargo and set up 12 new shipping routes in 2021.Beibu Gulf Port currently has more than 270 productive berths. Over 50 shipping routes link the port with more than 300 ports around the world.Guangxi's Beibu Gulf Port serves as an important transit point in the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a trade and logistics passage jointly built by western Chinese provincial regions and Singapore. Enditem

By Xinhuanet| 2022-01-04 00:58:00

The container throughput of Shanghai Port exceeded 47 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2021, ranking first globally for 12 consecutive years despite the COVID-19 impact on the shipping industry, port data showed Saturday.Last year, the port handled 32 million TEUs in foreign trade and 6.3 million TEUs in domestic trade. The throughput of international transit containers at the port exceeded 6 million TEUs for the first time, or a year-on-year increase of 13.4 percent, according to the Shanghai International Port Group Co., Ltd.Technological support such as automatic terminals and intelligent heavy trucks has played an important role in achieving the growth amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a port source said.The port is speeding up its digital transformation and production mode transformation to improve the operation potential and ensure the stability of the industrial chain and supply chain, the source added. Enditem

By Xinhuanet| 2021-12-29 23:31:41

The trade volume between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan set a record high in 2021, as the figure jumped 27.3 percent to nearly 298.3 billion U.S. dollars in the first 11 months of this year.Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the statement Wednesday at a press conference.During the January to November period, the mainland exports to Taiwan amounted to 70.8 billion U.S. dollars, up 31.2 percent year on year, while the mainland imports from Taiwan reached 227.5 billion dollars, up 26.2 percent year on year, according to Ma.At the same time, a total of 5,923 Taiwan-funded enterprises were newly established on the mainland, a year-on-year increase of 34.7 percent, said Ma.Two new cross-Strait industrial cooperation zones and two new cross-Strait bases devoted to boosting employment and entrepreneurship for youth were also set up on the mainland, Ma added. Enditem

By Xinhuanet| 2021-12-28 11:27:09

Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region recorded around 261.8 billion yuan (about 41 billion U.S. dollars) in foreign trade with the European Union countries in the first 11 months of this year, up 30 percent year on year, the local customs said on Monday.According to Urumqi Customs, Xinjiang's exports to the EU hit 197.9 billion yuan, up 27.7 percent year on year in the January-November period, while its imports rose by 37.6 percent to reach 63.9 billion yuan.Sun Tao, deputy director of the statistics and analysis department of the customs, attributed the robust figures to the booming China-Europe freight train services via ports in Xinjiang, the trade growth of mechanical and electrical products and the surge in the export of clean energy equipment and products.In the first 11 months, a total of 11,156 China-Europe freight train trips were recorded by land ports in Xinjiang, a year-on-year increase of 26.8 percent. The total freight volume hit 1.1 million tonnes, up 30.2 percent year on year. Significant increases in trade have been seen with Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, France and Hungary.During the period, Xinjiang ports exported 158 billion yuan of mechanical and electrical products to the EU, up 32.9 percent year on year, accounting for 79.9 percent of the total exports. Meanwhile, Xinjiang ports also saw a 29.2 percent increase in the import of mechanical and electrical products from the EU, accounting for 65.5 percent of the total imports."During the period, the exports of raw plastics, electric vehicles and polysilicon have doubled. Among exported labor-intensive products, plastic products, shoes and furniture have seen significant growth," Sun said. Enditem

By Xinhuanet| 2021-12-28 11:19:26

Profits of China's major industrial firms continued rapid growth in the first 11 months of 2021, the latest signal that the country's economy is set to finish the pandemic-hit year on a strong note.Industrial firms with annual business revenues of at least 20 million yuan (about 3.14 million U.S. dollars) saw their combined profits up 38 percent year on year in the January-November period to 7.98 trillion yuan, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement Monday.The average growth of industrial profits in the January-November period for 2020 and 2021 came in at 18.9 percent.In November alone, major industrial companies raked in profits of 805.96 billion yuan, up 9 percent year on year, the statement showed.The sound industrial profits registered over most of the year offered further evidence that the economy has held steady despite challenges at home and abroad.Breaking down the data, senior NBS statistician Zhu Hong highlighted the improvement in the business profit structure, saying that curbed rising momentum in the prices of some raw materials eased pressure on downstream producers."Equipment and consumer goods production contributed more to the aggregate industrial profits...and an increasing number of sectors reported profit increases," Zhu said.Consumer goods production reported more profits for a second straight month in November, led by the apparel and food sectors, and equipment manufacturing returned to positive gains with a slight profit increase.Due to high prices in commodities, the mining sector continued to witness soaring profits, albeit with a milder growth rate, and remained a major driving force for the broader industrial profit growth.Zhu also stressed that the operation of private and small businesses kept improving thanks to an array of relief measures from tax breaks to financing support by the government, adding that their profit growth came in stronger than the industrial average.Monday's figures also showed that in the first 11 months, the combined revenues of industrial firms went up 20.3 percent from a year ago to 114.31 trillion yuan, and 33 out of 41 industries saw expansion in their profits. By the end of November, the total assets of industrial firms stood at 141.07 trillion yuan, up 9.8 percent from a year earlier.Despite the improving operation conditions, Zhu still cautioned of challenges including relatively high costs for businesses and said more efforts are required to help industrial firms.Precise and targeted support for manufacturing businesses, in particular small, medium-sized and micro firms, should be stronger in a bid to stimulate the vitality of market entities, Zhu said. Enditem