(ATF) As China’s top officials attend the 5th Plenum party meetings, official sources are releasing highly positive and optimistic figures on the economy. As the figures are compiled by the state they are hard to verify, and should be viewed as just general indicators.
CCTV, the key state media outlet, broadcast statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which released the third-quarter profit data of China’s industrial enterprises on Tuesday October 27. It said the profit growth rate of industrial enterprises accelerated to 15.9%, which is 11.1 percentage points higher than the Q2 figure. Production and sales of industrial enterprises has allegedly recovered rapidly, and the number of industries with profit growth increased. The profits of major industrial sectors maintained double-digit growth, the government says.
Logistics in three quarters stable, improving
The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing announced on Tuesday that in the first three quarters total national social logistics brought in 202.5 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.0%, and the growth rate was reportedly 0.8 percentage points higher than the previous eight months. From a structural point of view, the demand for logistics in various fields has recovered in an all-round way.
New ‘Belt and Road’ shipping route
As trade between China and ASEAN (the 10 Southeast Asian nations) is becoming increasingly prosperous, a new route has been added to the Belt and Road Initiative.
A new container shipping route from Tianjin Port to Singapore, Malaysia and other Southeast Asian ports was officially opened on Tuesday. Companies from Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi and other places export large amounts of steel, cement and electronic components exports to Southeast Asian countries every year. After the Tianjin Port has determined its timetables, the government said it should save the time that companies wait for shipments and reduce transportation costs.
Science and Technology Innovation Centre in Beijing
Talent and innovation are indispensable for building a new development pattern. On Monday October 26, as another measure of the state’s Science and Technology drive, the Inner Mongolia Science and Technology Innovation Centre was set up in Beijing. It will realise a wider range of information and innovation between Beijing and Inner Mongolia through a flexible new model (which has the slogan “R&D in Beijing and transformation in Inner Mongolia”).
The sharing of elements, resources and results, and regional innovation cooperation will help Inner Mongolia achieve high-quality economic development, it says. There has been unrest in Inner Mongolia, as the Mongolian language was cut from school curricula.
UN report: FDI stable
A report issued by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on the 27th showed that global foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by 49% year-on-year in the first half of this year globally, but the flow of FDI into China ‘has remained relatively resilient.’
Anti-corruption campaign ‘swatting tigers’
‘China in Focus’ reported that Chairman Xi’s anti-corruption campaign has led to the arrest of 36,000 corrupt officials. The Patriotic Youth news reported that anti-corruption efforts can be described as a storm of 41 “tigers”.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection declared that China’s anti-graft drive has entered a “new normal”. In more colourful language, it said that catching corrupt officials was like “swatting tigers off their horses.”
ALSO SEE: Former top banker pleads guilty to massive graft
China’s real estate black hole grows as govt mulls takeovers
