By Xinhuanet| 2022-02-08 00:41:15

China's steel industry aims to achieve a high-quality growth featuring more advanced technology and equipment, stable resources supply, higher level of intelligence, enhanced global competitiveness and reduced emissions by 2025.These were major goals set in a development guideline jointly released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.The sector's innovation capacity will be significantly enhanced, with the R&D investment intensity, the numerical control rate of key processes and the digitalization rate of manufacturing equipment reaching 1.5 percent, 80 percent and 55 percent, respectively, the guideline noted, adding that more than 30 smart factories will be built by 2025.Electric furnace steel production will be increased to over 15 percent of China's total crude steel output by then amid efforts to further optimize the industrial structure, the guideline stated.To reach the 2030 goal of carbon emissions peaking, China will upgrade over 80 percent of steel production capacity to achieve ultra-low emissions, cut overall energy consumption per tonne of steel by more than 2 percent, and reduce water consumption intensity by more than 10 percent, the guideline noted. 

By Xinhuanet| 2022-02-05 11:29:45

With a flurry of economic sectors in China reporting stellar growth for 2021, the country is gearing up for the year of the tiger amid stronger financial support.Fast expansion in the manufacturing sector last year, together with recent moves from China's monetary and fiscal authorities propping up the real economy will all lend impetus to the economic growth in the new year, officials said.INDUSTRIAL STRENGTHChina's industrial sectors once again demonstrated strength and resilience amid the pandemic that wreaked havoc in global industrial chains in 2021, with profits of the country's major industrial firms surging 34.3 percent year on year, official data showed.Rapid development in emerging industries has led the industrial structure upgrade and contributed significantly to the annual profit rise of this sector in 2021. Last year, the high-tech manufacturing sector maintained rapid profit growth, rising 48.4 percent from the previous year.In 2022, China will see the core competitiveness of its manufacturing sector further enhanced and the real economy more dynamic, said Zhu Hong, a senior statistician with the National Bureau of Statistics.Favorable policies supporting relevant enterprises will be rolled out in the next step, Zhu said, expressing hopes for greater market vitality and effectiveness of the industrial economy this year.GREATER FISCAL SUPPORTWith its fiscal revenue squeaking out growth last year, the Chinese government is expected to lend steam to the real economy through subsidies on a larger scale. Tax and fee cuts will be given "a vital role" in promoting stable and sound economic development in 2022, Xu Hongcai, vice minister of finance said.China's fiscal revenue rose 10.7 percent year on year to hit 20.25 trillion yuan (about 3.18 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2021, almost doubling from 11.73 trillion yuan in 2012, official data showed.In the past year, the country's fiscal spending edged up 0.3 percent year on year to 24.63 trillion yuan, and the total tax and fee cuts amounted to about 1.1 trillion yuan.Scrapping the tax burden on market entities has become a national policy for sustaining economic growth amid domestic and external uncertainties. In terms of future moves in 2022, the country will tailor the tax and fee cuts to the needs of market entities and slash more tax burden, Xu noted.Detailing the measures, Xu said China will extend the tax and fee cuts due at the end of 2021 for small, micro and individual businesses to further ease their operating pressure.In the meantime, the central government will step up transfer payments to local governments, especially in poor and underdeveloped regions, while the use of local government bonds will be maximized to shore up the construction of major projects.The tax and fee cut measures will be "more precise and sustainable" in 2022, Xu said.BIGGER MONETARY-POLICY TOOLBOXVowing to open the monetary-policy toolbox wider, Liu Guoqiang, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, said the country's central bank will also contribute to the future high-quality economic growth by forging a suitable financial environment in 2022.Fresh moves came in late January as the central bank cut the interest rates of its medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans and reverse repos by 10 basis points, amid the country's efforts to lower lending costs for businesses and further shore up economic growth.Wen Bin, chief analyst at China Minsheng Bank, said that the move at the beginning of this year meets the country's requirement to make monetary policy perform in advance, and the degree of such reductions signifies strengthened counter-cyclical adjustment.The country's multiple financial policy tools have remained active in bolstering the real economy over time, particularly under the current triple pressure of demand contraction, supply shocks and weakening expectations amid an increasingly complicated external environment.For its work in 2022, the central bank will use various monetary policy tools to maintain liquidity at a reasonable and ample level, ensure stable credit growth, and guide financial institutions to increase the credit supply so as to ensure the money supply, while social financing expansion will basically match the nominal economic growth rate, Liu said. 

By Xinhuanet| 2022-02-03 16:14:10

Foreign trade in goods in Xiamen, a coastal city in east China, reached 887.65 billion yuan (about 140 billion U.S. dollars), up 27.7 percent year on year, according to Xiamen Customs.Combined exports amounted to 430.7 billion yuan and imports 456.9 billion yuan, respectively rising 20.6 percent and 35.3 percent, compared to 2020.The coastal city's trade volume with the ASEAN countries last year totaled 162.9 billion yuan, up 25.2 percent year on year, while trade with the United States and the European Union hit 113.29 billion yuan and 98.28 billion yuan, respectively up 25.7 percent and 27.6 percent.The city's trade with the Belt and Road countries and RCEP members increased by 28.7 percent and 22 percent, according to customs statistics.

By Xinhuanet| 2022-01-31 15:49:47

China's economic hub Shanghai registered a record import and export volume of 10.09 trillion yuan (about 1.58 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2021, up 15.4 percent year on year, local authorities said on Sunday.According to data released by the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, the city's export volume totaled 5.74 trillion yuan last year, up 15.2 percent on a yearly basis. Meanwhile, its import volume increased by 15.6 percent to reach 4.35 trillion yuan.The trade surplus was widened by 13.9 percent to 1.39 trillion yuan during the same period.Shanghai has always been one of the world's most influential financial and transport centers. The city's import and export volume in 2021 accounted for over 3.2 percent of the world's total.In 2021, the port of Shanghai notched up an annual container throughput of more than 47 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), while over 32.2 million passengers traveled through the Shanghai Pudong International Airport. Enditem.

By Xinhuanet| 2022-01-28 19:14:49

China's international goods and services trade surplus stood at 384.7 billion yuan in December last year, showed official data Friday.In dollar terms, the figure reached 60.4 billion U.S. dollars last month, said data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.The country's trade earnings neared 2.44 trillion yuan in December, and its expenditure reached 2.05 trillion yuan.China's income from trade in goods came in at approximately 2.18 trillion yuan, with spending of 1.74 trillion yuan. It led to a surplus of 435.6 billion yuan, the data showed.Trade in services saw a deficit of 50.9 billion yuan, with the sector's income and expenditure standing at 262.7 billion yuan and 313.6 billion yuan, respectively.

By Xinhuanet| 2022-01-27 23:04:31

Profits of China's major industrial firms surged 34.3 percent year on year in 2021 as industrial production recovered and profit margin improved, official data showed on Thursday.Industrial firms with annual business revenues of at least 20 million yuan (about 3.16 million U.S. dollars) saw their combined profits reach 8.71 trillion yuan last year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.The full-year industrial profits were 39.8 percent higher than the 2019 level, putting the average annual growth for 2020 and 2021 at 18.2 percent.In 2021, the combined revenues of those firms went up 19.4 percent from a year ago to 127.92 trillion yuan, and 32 out of 41 industries saw growth in profits.In December alone, major industrial companies raked in profits of 734.2 billion yuan, up 4.2 percent year on year, NBS data showed."The rapid growth in production and sales has laid a solid foundation for improvement in profits," said Zhu Hong, a senior statistician with the NBS.Zhu said falling production costs have significantly boosted profit margins, partly thanks to the government's financial support measures for the real economy.In 2021, the cost per 100 yuan of industrial revenue was 83.74 yuan, 0.23 yuan lower than a year ago. The operating profit margin increased 0.76 percentage points to 6.81 percent.Zhu emphasized the high-tech manufacturing sector, which played a leading role in the annual profit rise. In 2021, the high-tech manufacturing sector maintained rapid profit growth, rising 48.4 percent from a year earlier.The sectors of pharmaceutical manufacturing and electronic and communication device manufacturing posted exceptionally strong profits, which expanded 77.9 percent and 44 percent from a year ago, respectively.Due to high prices in commodities, the mining sector became another driving force for the broader industrial profit growth. Last year, upstream mining and raw material manufacturing companies saw their profits up 190.7 percent and 70.8 percent, year on year, respectively.Despite the rapid rise in the full-year figure, Zhu cautioned against a growth decline in November and December, noting that the downstream enterprises, especially the small firms, are still under pressure and that challenges remain for industrial development this year.More efforts should boost the core competitiveness of the manufacturing sector, strengthen the real economy, help enterprises tide over difficulties and further stimulate market vitality, Zhu said. 

By Xinhuanet| 2022-01-26 21:29:29

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement, which entered into force on Jan. 1, is a huge New Year gift for the regional and global economy, business people in Cambodia said.The RCEP is a mega trade agreement signed by 10 ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member states Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and its five free trade agreements partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.Paul Kim, deputy chief of Hong Leng Huor Transportation, said the RCEP would eventually eliminate up to 90 percent of regional trade tariff and non-tariff barriers, which will further promote the flows of goods and services, deepen regional economic integration and increase regional competitiveness."With preferential tariff rates under the RCEP, I believe that people in the member countries will enjoy buying products and other necessities at a competitive price during the Spring Festival season this year," Paul said.He dubbed the RCEP "a huge New Year gift for businesses and peoples in the region and the world at large," saying that the agreement will "serve as a driving force for regional and global economic recovery in the post-COVID-19 pandemic."Collectively covering about one-third of the world's population with 30 percent of the global gross domestic product, the RCEP will increase the member economies' incomes by 0.6 percent by 2030, adding 245 billion U.S. dollars annually to regional income and 2.8 million jobs to regional employment, according to an Asian Development Bank's study.Focused on trade in goods and services, investment, intellectual property, e-commerce, competition and dispute settlement, Paul said the deal offers opportunities for regional countries to defend multilateralism, trade liberalization and promote economic cooperation.Hong Leng Huor Transportation specializes in various services ranging from freight forwarding, dry port operations, customs clearance, road transportation, warehousing and distribution to e-commerce and last-mile delivery."RCEP will facilitate logistics, distribution and supply chain resilience as it simplifies customs processes, shipment clearances and other provisions," he said. "Despite the pandemic, trade has remained surprisingly strong during the past two years, and we're excited to witness how RCEP would further facilitate trade and, thus, regional economic growth, in the years to come."He is confident that the RCEP will further boost cross-border trade and investment among the member countries in the long run."For Cambodia, with tariff concessions, the deal will definitely further boost goods traded between Cambodia and other RCEP member states, especially with China," he said.Ly Eng, an assistant to the general manager of Hualong Investment Group (Cambodia) Co., Ltd, said her company had recently imported mandarin oranges to Cambodia from South China's Guangdong province for the first time under the RCEP.

By Xinhuanet| 2022-01-25 22:14:08

Li Tianlong, owner of a motor manufacturer in Yongjia, east China's Zhejiang Province, said digital transformation has saved his 60-employee company from bankruptcy.His company, Zhejiang Shuntian Transmission Technology Co., Ltd., underwent a tough period during which production efficiency was extremely low and employee performance kept slipping."I was then in desperate need to find a way out," said Li.In 2021, Shuntian finally resolved to cooperate with Inclution, a digital service provider founded in Hangzhou, Zhejiang's capital.However, very little was known about digital transformation among Li's employees at that time. He came under fire by many who strongly opposed digital transformation for fear of uncertainties."I just feel lucky that I have overcome many struggles to finally make my company go digital," Li said.Thanks to the digital transformation, Shuntian saw its annual order delivery hit a record high, with its annual output up 13 percent year on year at the end of 2021.Li said that now frontline employees only need to operate all-in-one machines, and they can work with zero contact. Beside, the sales, production, warehouse storage, and quality inspection have been coordinated to give instant feedback to staff."The workshop director knows the whole picture of workshop production and operation via smartphones or computers. All materials have digital codes in the warehouse, and the warehouse system can improve the inventory turnover rate and greatly reduce the hidden costs resulting from insufficient material preparation and other problems," said Li.China is speeding up digitalization in the manufacturing sector. Outlined in the 14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives through the Year 2035, China will promote the deep integration of digital technology and the real economy and empower the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries to spur economic growth.Some enterprises, however, are still ambivalent about whether to go digital due to the lacking of funds, talents, or methods."Many companies still don't know how to start businesses in the new digital age," said Wang Kefei, chairman of the Inclution."We're working with these companies to search for areas that can be optimized, especially to tackle common problems in production, procurement, inventory, and error-prone piecework," Wang added.

By Xinhuanet| 2022-01-24 21:04:22

Shanghai's foreign trade hit a record high of 4.06 trillion yuan (about 640 billion U.S. dollars) in 2021, with a robust year-on-year increase of 16.5 percent, data from Shanghai Customs showed Monday.Last year, the metropolis in eastern China saw exports rise 14.6 percent year on year to 1.57 trillion yuan, while its imports jumped 17.7 percent to 2.49 trillion yuan, which led to a trade deficit of 917.3 billion yuan, said the customs authority.During the same period, the value of imports and exports between Shanghai and the European Union (EU), its largest foreign-trade partner, reached 806.93 billion yuan, up 15.8 percent year on year. The number accounted for 19.9 percent of Shanghai's total value.Meanwhile, the metropolis' trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the United States and Japan totaled 538.08 billion yuan, 508.12 billion yuan and 411.56 billion yuan, accounting for 13.2 percent, 12.5 percent and 10.1 percent of total foreign trade value, respectively.In 2021, Shanghai saw its exports of mechanical and electrical products hit 1.08 trillion yuan, an increase of 14 percent, making up 68.7 percent of the city's total export value. In particular, the city registered surging exports of automobiles, increasing by 206 percent to 57.01 billion yuan.The customs authority also noted the increasing imports of integrated circuits in the metropolis, exceeding 300 billion yuan and making it the largest category of imported goods.Privately owned businesses contributed 1.1 trillion yuan of Shanghai's foreign trade, which increased by 32.5 percent year on year, accounting for 27.1 percent of the total trade, 3.2 percentage points higher than that of 2020.

By Xinhuanet| 2022-01-21 20:38:59

China FAW Group Co., Ltd., a leading automobile maker in the country, plans to sell around 4.1 million vehicles in 2022, growing at an annual rate of 17.1 percent, the company said Friday.The company's operating revenue is expected to reach 770 billion yuan (about 121 billion U.S. dollars) this year, with annual growth of 8.9 percent.In 2022, the automaker plans to channel between 3 and 3.5 percent of its operating revenue to research and development expenditure.Last year, FAW Group sold a total of 3.5 million vehicles. Sales of its leading sedan brand Hongqi came in at 300,000 in the period, an increase of 50.1 percent year on year. Its truck subsidiary FAW Jiefang sold a total of 440,000 vehicles.Chinese auto sales are likely to rise 5 percent year on year in 2022, with total sales reaching 27.5 million units, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said.While the impact of epidemic prevention and control measures on the market will gradually weaken, China's auto market will maintain growth in 2022 driven by huge demand potential, the gradual easing of chip shortages, and the strong demand for new energy vehicles, Fu Bingfeng, CAAM Executive Vice-President, told a press conference.Founded in 1953 in the northeastern city of Changchun, the capital of Jilin Province, FAW Group is considered the birthplace of China's auto industry.