Ahead of the US Federal Reserve's upcoming meeting this week, during which market observers generally believe that a fifth interest rate hike this year will be announced, discussions flared up again as to how the strengthening dollar is boomeranging on the US and throwing the world into fears of recession.

President Xi Jinping said China is willing to work with other countries to build a global industrial and supply chain system that is secure, stable, smooth, efficient, open, inclusive and mutually beneficial, according to a congratulatory letter the top leader sent to an international forum on supply chain stability on Monday.

A cooperation agreement on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan (CKU) railway construction project could reportedly be signed at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit held from Thursday to Friday in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, marking new groundbreaking moment in the development of the long-anticipated rail line after nearly 20 years of negotiation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday began official visit to Kazakhstan - the country in which the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was first proposed back to 2013, and Uzbekistan, and will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.

Half a year ago, the metaverse was a novel concept that few Chinese people knew. But now, sensations surrounding the virtual technology have been reverberating across the country, which peaked in recent days with the debuts of a host of metaverse-themed experience halls - crowded with tech-savvy visitors as well as passionate technocrats and entrepreneurs - at virtually every global event hosted in China.

Digital trade has become a growing area of cooperation between China and countries and regions along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), companies and representatives at the 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) have said.

The peace-loving character and independent thinking that characterized entrepreneurs such as Inamori shed light on today's issues, as China-Japan ties are at a crossroads due to Tokyo's series of provocative moves, analysts said.

Foreign business representatives and industry groups welcomed a simplified cross-border travel process for personnel exchanges as the Chinese government has ramped up efforts to make it easier for business people and students to enter China.

As Wednesday marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and South Korea, scholars and entrepreneurs have expressed high hopes that the Yoon Suk-yeol government - building on the momentum of "flourishing business ties" - will join the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which they believe will be synergized with South Korea's economic blueprint in creating a cross-continental Eurasian logistics network, while facilitating deeper integration of high-tech industrial chains, paving the way for the two neighbors' joint exploration of third markets.

Last year, buying prime real estate in the metaverse was a luxury for a 28-year-old investor surnamed Huang, as the craze over the novel and revolutionary technology prompted a host of investors with deep pocket ranging from tech titans, celebrities to entrepreneurs to jump in, shedding limelight on the booming market and making headlines with record-high transaction price.

Taiwan's economy will be further impacted due to the geo-political tension provoked by the US and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities' secessionist policy to unwisely undermine the island's trade ties with the Chinese mainland, said analysts on Tuesday, as the latest data showed that the island's export orders saw a surprise decline in July.

Near the bustling Djibouti port, one of the most important ports in Africa, sits a several-square-meter-large Luban Workshop, a Chinese-aided skill and vocational training project. The Luban Workshop is also the African country's first institute of vocational education designated to improve the professional skills of the local workforce.

Vocational education has great significance for promoting employment and entrepreneurship, boosting economic and social development, and China actively pushes forward the high-quality development of vocational education, and supports exchanges and cooperation in vocational education with other countries, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a congratulatory letter to the World Vocational and Technical Education Development Conference on Friday, the first such event of its kind, which is being held in North China's Tianjin Municipality.

On July 4, the seventh Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Foreign Ministers' Meeting was held in Bagan, Myanmar, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Myanmar's Foreign Minister U WunnaMaungLwin co-chaired the meeting. At the meeting, Wang said, the LMC, as the first new sub-regional cooperation mechanism with the participation of the six countries in a basin, has developed rapidly and achieved remarkable results since its launch six years ago, setting a example of regional cooperation.

The intertwined resonance of economic hardship, political turmoil and social crisis has brought Sri Lanka's national governance to the brink of paralysis, with an uncertain start for the new government. However, the international community's concerns about the knock-on effects of the collapse of the country is accompanied by some countries' distorted incitements of ill-timed attempts at geopolitical game playing and the unfounded questioning by some media outlets of China's role.

Sri Lanka has not reached any initial agreement with the IMF on debt relief, and its largest creditors -the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank - are urged to come up with a package that would speed up its debt restructuring process, Sri Lanka's Ambassador to China Palitha Kohona told the Global Times in an exclusive interview on Friday, while also calling for more assistance from partners after the debt-ridden country claimed bankruptcy and imposed a state of emergency amid escalating protests and persisting shortage of daily necessities.

In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI), aiming at building a new platform for international cooperation and creating new momentum for shared development. Since then, the BRI has opened a path for high-quality development and common prosperity for countries along the route, becoming a real global platform serving over half of the world's population.

On July 1, the bustling Victoria Harbor will be illuminated with glittering lights, decorating every corner of the metropolis. Across the port stands Hong Kong's iconic modern skyscraper international financial center, where market trading operates 24/7. Looking down from the Lion Rock Hill, the Sham Chun River, which borders Shenzhen on the mainland, is flowing, and Hongkongers are in a joyful mood to mark a special day with eager anticipation for a brighter future.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) will open a new campus in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, and has recently gained approval from the Ministry of Education (MOE). The move is expected to better integrate quality educational resources of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Chinese mainland, ahead of the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland.

China's top legislative body voted on Friday to adopt amendments to the country's Anti-Monopoly Law, and the new law will take effect on August 1, a revision which has closed certain loopholes in existing regulation in terms of abusing market dominant position while drawing a clearer “bottom line”for private firms on illicit acts that threaten fair market competition.

With the 14th BRICS Summit to be held on Thursday, business representatives from the bloc of emerging markets have high hopes for the multilateral mechanism to play a significant role in strengthening cooperation not only among its members, particularly trade with Russia and China-India trade, but also the broader developing world amid growing global uncertainties and challenges.

Shanghai's economy contracted in May as the fallout of coronavirus epidemic continued to weigh on the city, but the decline of certain key economic indicators slowed down to a large extent, indicating that the key financial and trading center has "endured its darkest hour" and is steadily moving toward a recovery that could pave way for a strong rebound in June and the second-half of 2022.

As China's mid-year 618 shopping festival approaches, more Chinese firms who have suffered under the strain of the coronavirus and other economic headwinds, have been jumping on the livestreaming bandwagon to promote product sales, looking to shore up their virus-hit businesses and tapping into the consumer market of the world's second-largest economy -- which is on the path to a rapid reboot.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on Wednesday issued two variety certification standards at the national level for genetically modified (GM) crops, including soybeans and corn, in what industry observers said a significant step in China's legalization of GM crops as the country seeks to further bolster its food security.

Chinese enterprises' humanitarian aid to South Pacific island nation Tonga in the face of natural disasters and the pandemic has demonstrated the genuine friendship between China and South Pacific countries and given the world an example of building a community with a shared future for mankind, Chinese businesses said, amid Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi's ongoing visit to the region.

China and Fiji have a huge potential for pragmatic cooperation in a wide range of areas, including climate change, agriculture and infrastructure, despite geopolitical attempts by certain countries to undermine China-Fiji ties, Chinese businesses and experts said, after Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited the country over the weekend.

For the vast South Pacific countries with abundant tropical resources but lack talent and technology to leverage these resources, external support in the sector is the most efficient way for nations in the region to see timely economic benefits - an effort China has been engaging for years and is now becoming one of pillars for cooperation with some nations in the region.

China will support the sound and sustainable development of the digital economy and support digital enterprises to list in domestic and overseas capital markets, senior Chinese officials said at a closely watched meeting convened by the country's top political advisory body on Tuesday, offering a major boost for internet companies that are facing a complex development environment.

China's stance on US' punitive tariffs is always clear: the duties imposed on Chinese goods should be removed to bring bilateral economic relations to normalcy. Also, eliminating the tariffs will help ameliorate inflation in the US, said analysts.

Chinese businesses in Pakistan are operating without disruption, though they are ramping up precautions to ensure the safety of personnel and projects in accordance with official guidelines, after a terrorist attack in Karachi killed three Chinese nationals on Tuesday afternoon.

China has released the first nationwide official document focusing on its youth, recording achievements in the country's youth development in the new era and reflecting its spirit. The official document was issued on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC) under the Communist Party of China (CPC)'s leadership.

China's GDP grew by 4.8 percent in the first quarter of 2022, topping market expectations and maintaining a stable growth even as the March economy was faced with "unprecedented downward headwinds since the first quarter of 2020" due to COVID-19 flare-ups, supply chain snags and external uncertainties arising from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

China's GDP grows 4.8% in Q1, beats market expectations

China's rare-earth exports in the first quarter of 2022 rose 6.5 percent year-on-year to 12,680 tons, slowing down from the 10.9-percent growth recorded in the first two months of the year, customs data showed on Wednesday.

With global food prices skyrocketing, the protracted Russia-Ukraine conflict is causing serious risks for global food security. The importance of agricultural safety in China is being elevated to an unprecedented level, with seed security in particular, known as agricultural “chips,” also topping the priorities.

China's Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs (MOA) and the Ministry of Finance have issued a notice in recent days, requiring local authorities to mull over an "all-out effort" to guarantee the harvest of summer wheat and expand the plantation of soybeans "by all means," said a statement on the website of the MOA on Friday.

The capacity of rare-earth companies in Ganzhou, East China's Jiangxi Province - one of China's biggest rare-earth manufacturing bases - has been cut by at least 25 percent compared with last year, after major border gates for rare-earth minerals to ship from Myanmar to China shut down again at the beginning of the year, which has largely affected raw material supply, the Global Times learned.

The intensifying crackdown by the US government toward Chinese companies listed in the US, with Chinese social media giant Weibo Corp being the latest target of such policies, will further deter Chinese mainland companies from seeking IPOs in the US that used to be a paradise for global fundraising, Chinese experts said on Thursday.

In what Chinese industry insiders compared to as a "fireside chats," China's top financial affairs watchdog pledged to bolster steady economic growth and capital markets in a meeting convened on Wednesday. The meeting had sent a fresh signal that the world's second-largest economy will not pull punches in shoring up its economy for the year despite the downward pressure.

Nordic business groups in China are seeing many opportunities in a wide range of areas such as green development, healthcare and energy, as they pay close attention to China's social and economic development priorities being revealed and discussed at the ongoing two sessions.

China will take multiple measures this year to increase the output of soybeans and other oilseeds, such as improving subsidies for farmers, actively guiding farmers in Northeast China - a main production base - to plant more soybeans, and promoting soybean-corn intercropping technology, agricultural officials said on Wednesday, after this year's No.1 central document prioritized ensuring food security.

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics has provided “fantastic opportunities” for northern European countries such as Finland, Denmark and Iceland – some of which are regarded as home to a range of incredible winter sports – to enhance winter sports communication with China and broaden the scope of bilateral cooperation, business representatives and officials told the Global Times.

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, the largest-ever demonstration of the use of hydrogen-powered vehicles in the history of the games, marks an industrial breakthrough and scaled application of China's hydrogen industry from one to 100, and is set to open a new chapter of development of the hydrogen industry chain in the capital city, Chinese officials said.

With Gu Ailing's historic gold winning in the Beijing 2022 Olympics' women's freestyle ski competition and Su Yiming's silver medal in the men's slopestyle final, a dry ski slope training field in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province using China's homegrown "needle mushroom" dry ski technology - which played an indispensable role in their training regime - has come under the spotlight.

The ongoing Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, one of the world's largest sporting galas, has become a vivid display of China's digital economy market on meteoric expansion, from the debuts of digital yuan payments and the wide application of 5G, cloud and artificial technology that empowers the sporting gala, to the long-anticipated release of officially licensed non-fungible token (NFT) digital pins involving multiple designs of Bing Dwen Dwen, the panda mascot of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Could the Chinese economy sail through the year 2022? The world's second-largest economy is well positioned to land at a growth rate above 5 percent this year, and the country is on trajectory to become a high-income country no later than the end of 2023, prominent Chinese economists said, sending an upbeat note for China to prelude a head start in 2022 while quashing a reverberating dim view of the prospects of the Chinese economy.

China on Monday posted an 8.1 percent GDP growth in 2021, defying market expectations and further cementing the world's second-largest economy's leading position in the global economy's recovery from the still raging COVID-19 pandemic, as major growth drivers, particularly exports, saw remarkable improvements in the face of mounting global challenges.

China's GDP has expanded at 8.1 percent in 2021, growing the fastest in nearly a decade and landing well above the government's annual target of achieving a growth rate above 6 percent.

China's economic cooperation with Latin America is pragmatic, and Chinese coronavirus vaccine has played a key role in their strategies to combat the epidemic, Jimena Jaen Baltodano, charge d' affaires of the Costa Rican Embassy in China, told the Global Times, against the backdrop of China's growing mutually beneficial economic ties with the region.

The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics has achieved 98 percent of its sustainable commitment as of September 30, 2021, with carbon emissions during the games set to be neutralized, a report released by the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games said on Thursday, debunking Western media's stepped-up hype over the claimed environmental cost of the event and the alleged difficulty to verify commitment.

A Chinese diplomat in Germany has urged the new German government to play an active role in the EU, abide by the one-China principle and not play the “Taiwan card” or send wrong signals to “Taiwan independence” secessionist forces, as Lithuania aims to hold hostage the EU's position on the Taiwan question with claims of “economic coercion.”

China on Monday unveiled a nationwide negative list for 2021 – in a move that observers called “a signature and phased step in high-level opening-up of the economy” – that drastically reduced barriers for foreign investment for five years in a row, with a full scrapping of restrictions on foreign ownership in passenger cars and a further easing in foreign investment in the production of key communications equipment.

Chinese companies have signed deals to build 1,000 schools in Iraq, a long-stalled construction project, as part of moves to help reconstruct the war-torn Mideast country, local sources confirmed with the Global Times, after the US announced it would formally end its combat mission in Iraq.

Myanmar has accepted the Chinese yuan as an official settlement currency for border trade with China, in a move that aims to address its shortage of US dollars and other foreign currencies, as the Southeast Asian country faces economic challenges amid political instability, sources close to the matter told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Myanmar resumed exporting rare earths to China after the reopening of China-Myanmar border gates in late November, sources told the Global Times, and analysts said that rare-earth prices are likely to ease in China as a result, although price rises are likely in the longer term because of China's focus on carbon emission cuts.

The operation of the long-awaited China-Laos railway should be a significant boost not only to Laos' economy by enhancing its tourism and trade with China, but also to the economy of the entire Lancang-Mekong region, which includes Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam and Thailand, by securing an important transport junction in the region, experts said.

EU companies will do business with the island of Taiwan on the premise of “sticking to the one-China principle,” and will not cross the line of engaging in a “state-to-state” type of dialogue, head of the main European business group in China told the Global Times on Thursday.

A famous Chinese sightseeing spot Zhangjiajie, where Hollywood blockbuster Avatar was shot, which unveiled what it claimed to be "the world's first scenic spot metaverse research and development (R&D) center" with aspirations to build the world of Avatar, has generated huge discussions in recent days on social media platforms about whether such an establishment is merely capitalizing on the hype and whether tourism authorities have the ability to actually make breakthroughs in one of the most cutting-edge areas of the tech sector.

Business communities in China and the US have expressed their excitement over the first virtual face-to-face meeting between the two countries' top leaders, as they hope the world's two largest economies can move forward on more sectors that could bring trade ties back on track. Nevertheless, industry players from the two countries urged Washington to do more, from removing unreasonable tariffs to stopping its bullying of Chinese firms so that the two could conduct follow-up negotiations as soon as possible.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden have started a virtual meeting on Tuesday morning, where senior economic officials from both sides are also attending, suggesting that trade and economic topics will likely be covered at the closely watched meeting.

Local GDP growth paces in Chinese provinces showed a mixed performance in the first three quarters of 2021, with eight of the 23 provincial level economies that have released quarterly GDP figures expanding at speeds above the national average of 9.8 percent, though a series of challenges, including new COVID-19 outbreaks and heavy rains, constrained economic activities.

During my recent trip to Aksu, a cotton production base in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, I was made jaw drop all the time. Driving across the road, the autumn view of Xinjiang was splendid, but I had my mouth widely opened not because of that, rather for the wealth of local cotton farmers, which could be compared to the rolling hills in Xinjiang that far exceeded my expectation.

At an endless cotton field located at the southern hills of the Tianshan Mountains in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, workers from China's cotton industry association were busily inspecting the field, screening quality for fresh picked cotton and processing product certification.

With white cotton blossoming in the fields and fluttering in the air like snowflakes, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the country's largest cotton production base that accounts for over 85 percent of the nation's output, is embracing another bumper cotton harvest season this month.

On a bright and clear Friday afternoon, a total of 14 cotton-picking machines were lining up at a 1,500-mu (100 hectares）cotton fields in Shaya county, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. With a brisk whistle and folk songs being played, the 14 pickers started roaring and moving forward at the same time - marking the start of a month-long bumper harvest season of Xinjiang's pure, white cotton that thousands of locals sing and dance to celebrate.

Meituan was fined 3.442b yuan ($533.5m), or 3% of its 2020 domestic revenue, for monopolist practices by China's top market regulator. It was also ordered to give a full refund of exclusive cooperation deposits worth 1.289b yuan to contracted merchants.

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Wednesday stressed that the city has returned to a right track under the national security law and will “thrive and flourish” under the “one country, two systems,” in the final policy address of her tenure that also outlined several major projects and policy initiatives to tackle national security and livelihood issues.

Over the past two days, Huawei senior executive Meng Wanzhou's return from Canada has ignited the latest surge of national pride, with the Chinese people welcoming her back home with massive and spontaneous celebrations both online and offline. Many people also took the incident of Meng as a symbolic turning point in the years-long geopolitical wrestling between China and the US, calling her return a hard-fought victory for the country and its people against the Western hegemony.

As Taliban take steps to stabilize the situation and pursue international recognition, Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and private firms are employing different investment strategies in the war-torn country, with the former exercising extreme caution in carrying out new projects and the latter eager to tap into a market where "a thousand things wait to be done."

As China marches toward its second centennial goal, the focus of promoting people's well-being and happiness has shifted from pure high economic growth to boosting common prosperity, an essential requirement of socialism and a key feature of Chinese-style modernization, which is a target that could be achieved only in China where socialism with Chinese characteristics provides a key advantage, experts said.

China's economic growth slowed down in July, with several key indicators, including retail sales and industrial production, falling short of market expectations, underscoring the multiple constraints the economy faces – ranging from the sudden Delta variant outbreak and floods, to a spike in bulk commodity prices and flattening overseas demand.

China's economy growth slowed down in July, but a number of key economic indicators improved and maintained steady expansion, verifying the resilience of the world's second largest economy in face of challenges, ranging from the abrupt Delta variant outbreak, serious flooding in parts of the country, and a spike in bulk commodity prices.

Operations at the Meishan wharf of at the Ningbo Zhoushan Port port in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang Province, were suspended starting on Wednesday, with cargo ships originally bound for the port being redirected to neighboring ports, the Global Times learned, after an employee of the Meishan wharf tested positive for the coronavirus – the first case at a Chinese port in three months.

When Lu Xiaowei started her career in Zhangjiang, a 17-square-kilometer farmland in Shanghai's Pudong New Area in 1993, there was little more than a deserted reed marsh, with no roads and little traffic.

A Chinese start-up has started testing “micro invasive” brain-computer interface (BCI) in pigs, and it also plans to test the technology on monkeys in the next phase of experiment, making itself one of Chinese leaders in the test and application of the new emerging technology, the Global Times learned.

Shanghai's Pudong New Area aims to attract more than 200 global institutional investors and five new legal person investment institutions this year, a government official in Pudong disclosed, as the country tries to model the area into an essential node of global financial resource allocation -- part of a blueprint to develop Pudong as China's socialist modernization pioneer zone in the coming years.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, visited Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region from Wednesday to Friday for the 70th anniversary of Tibet's peaceful liberation, the first time in the history of the Party and the country, the Xinhua News Agency reported Friday.

Cloudwalk Technology, known as one of China' four artificial intelligent (AI) “dragons”, is set to become China's first AI unicorn to go public at home, a milestone for China's burgeoning AI industry amid heated technology race between the world's two largest economies, rising public concern about data security and US government' increasingly hostile attitude toward Chinese companies listing in the US.

The upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games, which is scheduled to open on Friday, is not just a major sports event for athletes but also an important stage for countries to show their strength in various aspects.

China's post-COVID-19 comeback continues to gain steam as its economy posted growth in all sectors in the second quarter and GDP expanded 12.7 percent in the first half of the year, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.

China's GDP expanded 7.9 percent year-over-year in the second quarter of 2021, continuing a streak of robust growth mainly thanks to the government's successful containment of the COVID-19 outbreak throughout the country, which sets the basis for a steady revival of domestic consumption and manufacturing activity.

Despite falling exports, the textile and spinning products from Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region cotton are gaining vogue among Chinese consumers in recent months amid rising patriotism - triggered by some Western countries' relentless attacks against Xinjiang policies and boycotts by several fashion brands.

The China Cotton Association (CCA), along with other industry organizations, officially launched the Cotton China Sustainable Development Program on Thursday, aiming to build a homegrown independent sustainable standard and certification system to counter the West's dominance that has posed serious threat on China's cotton industry.

A railway project connecting Nigeria's city of Lagos, Africa's largest city, to the country's industrial base Ibadan, has been officially put into service on Thursday, making it the first modern double-track standard railway in the West Africa region.

A reported US potential move to impose tariffs on rare-earth magnets from China would only have a limited impact on the latter, as US manufacturers of smartphones, vehicles, TVs, industrial robots and other products have no other choice. China supplies over 85 percent of the global market and dominates some complicated technologies for making rare-earth magnets, industry insiders said.

China is progressing in developing 6G technology, which is expected to be commercially available around 2030, with the future 6G business showing immersive, intelligent and universal trends, according to a white paper released by an industry group on Sunday.

Chongqing Ant Consumer Finance Co, a subsidiary of Ant Group, was approved by the local banking and insurance regulator in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Thursday to open. The new fintech company will operate small loan companies' consumer credit businesses.

A bureau under China's state-owned assets supervisor on Sunday released a recommendation list of 178 technology innovations of centrally administrated state-owned enterprises (SOEs), highlighting breakthroughs in such sectors as semiconductors, server operating systems, core electronic components, key materials and advanced manufacturing.

Many Chinese bitcoin mines are considering moving out of China after the regulators re-emphasize plans to outlaw bitcoin-related payment services, although some mines in Southwest China's Sichuan Province are still operating as usual, industry insiders told the Global Times.

Chen Xiaofang, a 26-year-old fresh college graduate, has placed an order online for a piece of a long gown, embroidered with flowers and bead or Hanfu – an ancient garment traditionally worn by the Han ethnic group – amid a trend that the Chinese traditional costume is making a comeback.

New Zealand has been charting “a very positive and clear path” in relation to China, in stark contrast to Australia's hostile actions, which could result in major gains for New Zealand products and services in the Chinese market as Australia stands to lose, according to Chinese and New Zealand trade representatives.

While Western media has been hyping how China's growing gray population will bring a looming economic crisis to the Communist Party of China, the fact that China's population dividend will pick up and sustain its rosy economic expansion may disappoint them.

China's imports from Australia rose by 49.3 percent to $14.865 billion in April, accelerating from the 20.9-percent import growth rate recorded in the first three months as the price of iron ore – a major item China buys in bulk from Australia – surged to a record high. But as China pushes diversification efforts, analysts said a trade decoupling between the two countries is imminent amid icy bilateral relations.

China's top economic planner announced on Thursday that it is suspending indefinitely all activities under the China-Australia Strategic Economic Dialogue, marking the first time that a diplomatic mechanism between the two countries was frozen on the heels of downward spiraling bilateral relations.

Chinese research teams are striving to build self-developed chips for brain-computer interface (BCI), a critical bioscience sector that could collect and analyze human brains' electronic signals, paving way for a breakthrough in this next-generation technology in industry, aerospace and medicine, whose markets are valued at trillions of dollars.

China's GDP during the first three months of 2021 is projected to grow at approximately 20 percent from last year, with major economic indicators all expected to expand at more than 20 percent, picking up a stellar economic rebounding since the second half of 2020, and the growth was buoyed by a low base, soaring overseas demand and reviving consumption at home.

China's foreign trade volume surged by 29.2 percent year-on-year to reach 8.47 trillion yuan ($1.29 trillion) in the first quarter of 2021, getting off a robust start for the year despite the world is still grappling with the cloud of a global coronavirus outbreak resurgence.

China's Q1 trade surges 29.2% from last year. Exports rise 38.7%, imports gain 19.3%: customs data

With the massive rollout of coronavirus vaccine, China and the US are in a race to scale up production to secure enough doses as quickly as possible. While supplies of key vaccine components, chemical ingredients and raw materials do not seem to pose a challenge for China, the US could run into hurdles in accessing the complex mRNA raw materials such as antiviral agents, industry observers noted.

China's six state-owned banks, which have already been participating in the distribution of digital yuan, and have begun accepting public applications from Chinese citizens on opening their own trial digital renminbi wallets, as part of a move that would pave way for the digital currency's nationwide application.

As Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in China for his two-day visit on Monday, two days after the China-US meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, Chinese experts said it's totally normal for the two like-minded partners to coordinate crucial information, but it doesn't mean the two major powers are forming an anti-US alliance because this would be unnecessary and outdated.

Some Chinese rare-earth companies and their downstream firms are finding that their raw materials could not be shipped smoothly from Myanmar, a key supplier of medium and heavy rare earths for China, amid political upheaval in the Southeast Asian nation, although mining operations remain unaffected, several sources at those companies told the Global Times on Sunday.

China's economy emerged from the shadows of the coronavirus and recovered strongly in the first two months of 2021, with key indicators showing growth rates of more than 30 percent, thanks to last year's low base and a steady acceleration of manufacturing that was buoyed by domestic and overseas demand.

China's economy has shed the clouds of the coronavirus and picked up its recovery in the first two months of 2021, with key economic indicators improving at a sizable growth rate of more than 30 percent, thanks to last year's low base and a steady acceleration of manufacturing which is fired up by domestic and overseas demand.

Some Western media outlets' move to interpret LinkedIn's independent decision to pause new sign-ups in China as the Chinese government's “punishment” of Microsoft over its claimed accusation against Beijing for a recent hack attack is a typical act to politicize internet security issues and it is aimed at smearing China, industry observers said.

China's pledge to raise fundamental research funding to 8 percent of total research and development (R&D) spending during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25) will be a much-needed shot in the arm for the country's technology industry, and it shows Beijing's determination to achieve self-reliance in stranglehold sectors amid a spiraling technology war with Washington.

China will revise the anti-monopoly law, the company law and the corporate bankruptcy law to build a modern economic system and promote technological innovation, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, said in a work report on Monday.

China's plan to build a global rapid logistics circle for goods by 2035, which would allow goods to be delivered to neighboring countries and major international cities within two- three days, will likely boost China's trade with major economies in the EU and Asia, observers said.

The recent moves by the Joe Biden administration to curb China's economic and tech rise mirrors a "mentality collapse" among US political elites, who - having identified relations with China as one of "fierce competition" - are now sparing no efforts in the "final China push" to consolidate its edge as an early starter in the world economy.

China hopes the US side will remove unreasonable tariffs on Chinese goods, lift its unilateral sanctions on Chinese companies and research and educational institutes, and abandon its irrational suppression of China's technological progress, among other policy adjustments needed to create the necessary conditions for bilateral cooperation, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday.

Talking about driving the global economic recovery at the upcoming G7 Summit without China, or even stressing the "China challenge" at the meeting, will be like "navigating in the sea without a compass," giving the bloc's diminishing contribution to the world economy and China's increasing role as a global engine in the post-virus era, analysts said.

After US President Joe Biden warned of "extreme competition" with China, while also making clear that he would not pursue the same path his predecessor Donald Trump took, many in China's technological arena took that as a clear sign that the US government's crackdown on Chinese technology companies would continue, if not further escalate.

The Myanmar military on Monday announced that new elections will be held after the end of a one-year state of emergency, and it will return the state power to the new government. The military said that during the state of emergency, the Union Election Commission will be reformed and the parliamentary elections results will be reviewed.

China on Tuesday called on the new administration of US President Joe Biden to reverse what officials called the "wrong policies" toward China under former president Donald Trump, and instead take a positive and constructive approach to pull bilateral ties back to the right path, in a direct response to what analysts said was rather negative signals from the new US administration of repeating similar grievances and ill intentions that were a hallmark of the previous government.

China and the US should resume and improve their mechanism of communications to build up mutual trust as the Biden administration has been inaugurated, and the two governments ought to return to the negotiation table to discuss removing existing tariffs step by step, former Chinese and US officials said.

Unlike previous Spring Festival travel rush periods, this year's travel season (January 28-March 8) will see much less cross-provincial and cross-city travel, with airfares and hotel prices in many tourist cities plunging after many parts of China issued notices urging people to stay in their working cities for the incoming Chinese New Year amid the epidemic.

Three Chinese telecom operators – China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom – whose shares have been suspended from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) since January 11 following a Trump executive order – demanded on Wednesday (US time) that NYSE review their delisting.

The Chinese economy ended what has been a year of unprecedented challenges for mankind brought about by a deadly virus on an astonishingly high note, with growth in the final quarter of 2020 returning to pre-pandemic levels, lifting the country to several milestones of national pride. China became the only major economy to record growth last year with a 2.3 percent growth and its GDP climbed over the 100 trillion yuan mark for the first time ever, official data showed on Friday.

China's economy was firing on all cylinders in the final quarter of 2020, as solid domestic investment, buoyant home consumption and surging exports helped lift economic growth to 6.5 percent.

China's GDP is expected to expand above 2 percent in 2020, as the only major economy to grow in positive territory while other economies are still being hammered by the global pandemic outbreak, analysts said.

European companies are increasingly concerned about the impact of US-China economic decoupling – facilitated by the trade and tech war launched by the Trump administration against China – on their supply chain, telecom equipment supplies, as well as market access, some of which could inflict considerable damages on their investment in China in post-virus era, a business report showed on Thursday.

Bucking the global downward streak amid the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, China's luxury sales last year rose by a stunning 48 percent to around 350 billion yuan ($54 billion), buoyed by a consumption comeback as travelers were unable to shop overseas, a boost in online sales and duty-free policies in South China's Hainan Province, observers and industry reports said.

Bucking the global downward streak amid the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, China's luxury sales last year rose by a stunning 48 percent to about 350 billion yuan ($54 billion), buoyed by a consumption comeback as travelers were unable to shop overseas, a boost in online sales and duty-free policies in South China's Hainan Province, observers and industry reports said.

US President-elect Joe Biden has announced Rhode Island governor Gina Raimondo as the secretary of US Commerce Department - a key agency at the forefront of handling a batch of policies with China, ranging from managing trade policy to formulating tech strategy.

China should beef up research and development of cutting-edge seed breeding biotechnology in the next five years, such as genome editing, breeding by design and genetically modified variants, to protect the nation's agricultural progress and grain security, said leading agricultural specialists on Tuesday.

Shanghai city is estimated to have attracted more than $20 billion in foreign investment in 2020, which is a record high, Shanghai officials said on Monday.

China will maintain its prudent monetary policy and proactive fiscal policy in 2021 as uncertainties over pandemic fallout persist, but the overall tone will return to neutral with a gradual exit from a targeted easing policy, economists said, after the country's central bank made its biggest-ever injection of medium-term funds on Tuesday to boost liquidity.

China and the US may restart communication in the area of trade and economics - making it one of the first sectors for the world's two largest economies to break the ice amid a downward spiral in bilateral relations - when US President-elect Joe Biden takes office, observers said, after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on Monday for the two sides to open dialogue at all levels.

A new Chinese law that takes effect on Tuesday will restrict exports of controlled items, which experts said will increase market supply volatility of some products and technologies, like rare earths and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), although a plunge in exports is unlikely in the near term.

Although this year's Black Friday online sales are expected to set a record high, as the US economy tanks and offline traffic sees a significant reduction amid coronavirus case spikes, it is likely that Black Friday sales could remain flat compared to last year, or even post a small drop, analysts said.

With Chinese President Xi Jinping crediting China-ASEAN relationship as "the most successful and vibrant model for cooperation" in the Asia-Pacific, the bilateral relations between the two economies will navigate toward a diamond decade after 10 years of "golden era" - during which China and ASEAN had successfully managed differences and built political trust, in particular on stabilizing the South China Sea (SCS).

The US has reportedly granted ByteDance — the parent company of TikTok — a new seven-day extension of an order that directs the Chinese technology company to divest its short video-sharing app in the US.

After foldable smartphones and dual-screen phone-tablets, what is the next bandwagon that could lead to an industrial revolution?

China and the US should work together to negotiate a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) after president-elect Joe Biden takes office, said economists and analysts, amid China's ongoing push for greater opening-up and post-virus global economic recovery which needs closer cooperation among major powers.

Chinese smartphone vendor Oppo on Tuesday launched the Oppo X 2021 rollable concept smartphone, which allows users to adjust the size of the display. Analysts said the launch shows Chinese tech firms' increasing innovation ability despite the US-led tech crackdown.

While Democrat Joe Biden, declared victory for the US presidential election over the weekend, may unite the country's allies in setting rules for global trade and continue to confront China after he assumes the presidency, he can't neglect cooperation with the world's second-largest economy, experts say.

With technology self-reliance and basic scientific research capacity elevated to a national strategic level in a freshly released blueprint for China's development, Beijing is set to break through the Washington-led technology blockade in the coming years and become a leading player in many high-tech sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing, observers said.

The final results of the US election are expected to come through in about 24 hours if it goes smoothly, but the uncertainty of the country's domestic situation has raised concerns among some Chinese experts and economists that a potential constitutional crisis could further disrupt international relations and markets, with some of them calling the election a "black swan" event.

China's capital market is opening up at a “remarkable and surprising” speed, helping enmesh foreign financial institutions to a rising market, executives of foreign financial institutions told the Global Times, while stressing their long-term commitment to the world's second-largest economy – the only major economy expected to achieve positive growth in 2020.

About 10 months after Tesla Shanghai delivered the first batch of locally made Tesla 3s, the US-based electric car company announced that it will export China-made Tesla 3s to a dozen European countries.

Container rates from China to the US have soared in recent weeks, driven by the US' high demand to restock amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the upcoming holiday season and China's pick-up in foreign trade in the fourth quarter.

US chipmaker Intel is selling its NAND flash business to SK Hynix in a $9 billion deal that would give the South Korean company, together with Samsung, roughly 60 percent of the world's memory chip market.

After months-long tech war the US waged against the China, Chinese tech entrepreneurs have got accustomed to malicious assault from the US government, with more taking a "wait-and-see" attitude on whether the claimed US restrictions will merely be a bluff or are impactful, the Global Times learned.

President Xi Jinping on Wednesday further elevated the role of Shenzhen a pioneer of China's decades of reform and opening-up policy that has lifted the country from poverty to global profile in the country future development, giving the city an important mission to further implement the "one country, two systems" through integrated development with the Hong Kong and Macao special administration regions.

With a new blueprint laid out by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Shenzhen, the southern city that has been viewed as a paragon of China's economic miracle over the past 40 years, is now embarking on another historic mission - to lead the country's process of socialist modernization, build a new pattern to deepen reform, and expand opening-up on all fronts.

"We received a notice in mid-September to upgrade our point-of-sale gear to add Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) functions. We got the idea that public trials of the digital currency might land in our district, but we didn't expect that to happen so quickly," a vendor at a mall in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province told the Global Times on Wednesday.

For many Hong Kong youth and entrepreneurs, Qianhai district in southern Shenzhen - which is designed to facilitate greater cooperation between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the Chinese mainland - is the place where they began to chase dreams.

At midnight on Tuesday, the port of Shekou in southern Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, which faces Hong Kong across Shenzhen Bay, was bustling and aglow with lights. Container trucks shuttled back and forth, cranes hummed and port employees were busy guiding container ships as they docked at the terminal one after another.

China Central Television (CCTV) will resume broadcasts of NBA games on Saturday after a one-year suspension, after Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey's tweet in support of Hong Kong rioters.

Nearly half of China was on the move during the recent eight-day "Golden Week."

China has officially joined COVAX. China pledged to make vaccines developed and deployed by China a global public good, and will be provided to developing countries as a priority: Hua Chunying

Ahead of a key meeting that will determine China's development path in the next five years, Chinese economists predicted that the country's policymakers will downplay the country's GDP growth target in its new economic plan, keeping it at a lower level of around 5 percent, or even scrap the specific target since the world's second-largest economy is set to drop the quantity-oriented growth model and focus on structural and quality optimization in the face of what could be the "toughest years" ahead.

Chinese regulators announced rules on Friday to combine two major inbound investment schemes and expand the investment scope for foreign investors, a move which observers said represents an important step in the country's efforts to continue opening up its capital market to attract foreign investors amid the backdrop of global low-interests rates and strained China-US relations.

Qualcomm may become the next company after Intel and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) to obtain a license from the US government to continue supplying some products to Huawei, considering the US semiconductor maker's huge investment in lobbying and the negative impact on its revenue, but any approval may come after the US presidential election in November, analysts said.

In a stark turnabout from a tough tone on TikTok ahead of a forced sale of its US operations, US President Donald Trump on Saturday approved a partnership deal between TikTok's parent company ByteDance and Oracle "in concept." The deal reportedly does not involve the sales of algorithms and technology to US firms while allowing ByteDance to be a majority owner of its US business.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to attend a video conference with European leaders on Monday, the second such meeting between Chinese and European leaders in two months.

Amid industry zeal for technology advances in China's semiconductor sector, it is time to call for rational investment and top-down design by the government to avoid “expensive” failures, analysts told the Global Times on Monday.

The State Council of China agreed on Monday on a guideline on deepening and expanding trials on the opening of services sector in Beijing, with most opening-up measures rolled out for the first time, which will enable foreign financial institutions to enjoy pre-establishment national treatment in pilot programs.

The inclusion of the third-generation semiconductor industry into China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) - which led to an across-the-board rally in chip shares on Friday - is expected to give China an "upper hand" in the next battlefield of global chip technology, providing Beijing with more leverage to Washington's restrictions and malicious crackdown on Chinese tech firms.

The US Trade Representative Office (USTR) announced that it will extend tariff exclusions on a wide range of products including smart watch and medical mask through December 31, 2020, a move observers said shows that the world's two largest economies are living up to their promise to create conditions for the implementation of the hard-won phase one trade agreement after holding a call last week.

Huawei's high-end smartphones equipped with its self-developed Kirin chipset have seen price hikes in non-franchised stores, a source familiar with the matter told the Global Times on Monday.

About 60-70 percent of the Chinese mainland-made goods for export that originally transited at Hong Kong are now instead processed at Shenzhen and Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, due to the soaring human costs in the special administrative region (SAR) and new circumstances that have affected foreign traders' confidence, industry insiders told the Global Times.

It's lunchtime on Yue Hai Street in Shenzhen's Nanshan district, home to a number of big-name Chinese tech giants including Tencent, ZTE, DJI and Skyworth Group, as restaurants and coffee shops on Thursday were crowded and buzzing with tech employees, who sit around in groups, still debating the latest ideas and digital gadgets as they enjoyed their food.

Forty years ago, when some local villagers in Shenzhen, which was then composed of deserted farmlands, looked beyond the river, they often imagined a different lifestyle: the hustle and bustle of a metropolis, eagerness to learn and create new things, charming celebrities who shape the entertainment culture of Hong Kong, a neighboring city with free market values.

Shenzhen, the pioneer city in South China's Guangdong Province that was designated as China's first special economic zone (SEZ), will continue working with neighboring Hong Kong and deepening their financial cooperation against the backdrop of the US dollar-dominated financial system and the implementation of the national security law that helped Hong Kong restore a normal social order.

Late Monday night, almost all the interior lights were on at a 50-story skyscraper in the Nanshan district of Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province.

The US Department of State decided to terminate three agreements with Hong Kong on Wednesday, including an agreement concerning tax exemptions from the income derived from international shipping.

Chinese tech company Huawei is poised to speed up the launch of its own HarmonyOS operating system on its smartphones at the year end, after the expiration Thursday of a US temporary license that could potentially cut off Huawei's access to Google's Android updates, analysts said.

Imports from Hong Kong to the US will be labeled "Made in China" instead of "Made in Hong Kong" from September 25, according to a notice published on Tuesday by the US Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security.

Major Chinese commercial banks in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, have started testing the application of the central bank-backed digital currency in recent days among their internal employees, under which the Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) is used for payments and transfers, industry observers confirmed with the Global Times.

Shares of digital currency-related Chinese companies edged up on Tuesday's opening, with some rising by the daily limit of 10 percent. Investors were encouraged by a tone-setting central bank meeting on Monday which paved the way for the steady development of China's Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) in the second half of 2020.

China aims to make the application of Beidou Satellite Navigation System (BDS) the best among all other navigations, and be more inclusive to provide value-added services including short messaging, satellite based augmentation and international research-and-rescue services, the spokesperson of BDS and director general of China Satellite Navigation Office Ran Chengqi said Monday.

The US' GDP could see a double-digit contraction in the second quarter, economists predicted, with some anticipating the slide will be more than 30 percent.

The People's Bank of China (PBC), the central bank, has issued documents and evaluation rules regarding the application of blockchain in financial institutions including banks, security companies and insurance firms, industry insiders confirmed with the Global Times Wednesday.

Beijing residents' search for tourism destinations and flights spiked by 400 percent at tour service platforms Sunday afternoon, after the capital city announced it will lower its emergency response to COVID-19 from level II to III starting Monday.

China's economy is likely to grow 2-3 percent in 2020 and above 5 percent growth in the second half, riding on the momentum of a speedy economic rebound that propelled China's second-quarter GDP to return to an expansion of 3.2 percent, Chinese economists said.

China's GDP contracted 1.6 percent for the first time in the first half of a year in nearly three decades, battered by COVID-19 headwinds. But in the second quarter, the economy grew 3.2 percent, reversing from a 6.8-percent contraction in the first quarter, a sign of the resilience deeply rooted in China's economy amid a global freefall when the coronavirus pandemic has plunged most major economies into a near standstill.

A Chinese research institute has made a breakthrough in a new type of 5 nanometer (nm) laser lithography technology, which industry insiders believe could lay the foundation for research into a self-developed advanced lithography machine, a field in which China lags behind some developed Western countries.

Chinese consumers have been embarking on a new shopping spree, but without the bother of having to fly overseas to buy luxury goods.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang held a video meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday, during which Li urged both sides to expand two-way opening-up and fully utilize the "fast-track" channel to provide conveniences for enterprise cooperation, work resumption and maintain the stability of the industrial chain.

There has been no sign of decoupling between Europe and China, which remains a very important market for European companies in the post-virus era, and few of them are considering shifting their investments to other markets, European business representatives told the Global Times Wednesday.

Contrary to market expectations, China may not launch its central bank-backed sovereign digital currency DC/EP this year, industry insiders said. But relevant tests are running in a full swing as there is a widespread sense of urgency amid Beijing's efforts to challenge the US-dominated global financial order.

One of the biggest tasks for Chinese lawmakers and political advisors as they convene the annual two sessions is to offer the right prescription for the Chinese economy hit hard by COVID-19. This is the first of a multi-part series covering suggestions and proposals that stand out during the occasion about how to boost various growth drivers, including consumption, investment and exports, as well as areas related to livelihoods such as jobs.

The parliament of Hungary approved the upgrade of a rail link between Budapest and Belgrade, Serbia, after Hungary secured loans from a Chinese policy bank, a move that industry insiders could pave the way for a new, more cost-effective sea-land transport route under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which will assist China to ship goods to Europe from Piraeus, Greece.

China's rare earth industry faces rising pressure due to overseas COVID-19 outbreaks, with exports falling 20 to 30 percent since April, while domestic demand has yet to return to pre-crisis levels, industry insiders told the Global Times.

China's rare earth industry faces rising pressure due to overseas COVID-19 outbreaks, with exports falling 20 to 30 percent since April, while domestic demand has yet to return to pre-crisis levels, industry insiders told the Global Times.

With the Two Sessions - a major event on China's political calendar -- opening next week in Beijing - what rate policymakers will pick for this year's GDP growth target, and whether they will set one at all, is drawing close scrutiny amid the global coronavirus pandemic that has put the world economy in the intensive care unit.

China and the EU may not be able to sign a proposed bilateral investment treaty (BIT) this year as scheduled, due to border control measures for pandemic prevention, which pose barriers in arranging face-to-face negotiations that are deemed vital in addressing many issues, industry insiders said.

Many Chinese companies - including chipmakers, smartphone makers and even automakers - have redoubled efforts to build up their semiconductor capabilities in recent months, as the coronavirus assault and an emerging technology battle with the US have shaken global supply chains, prompting domestic players to ramp up production and reduce imports.

Despite recent efforts by Australian businesspeople to forge closer ties with China to cushion the Australian economy from the fallout of the global pandemic, Canberra's recent posturing by hyping up a coronavirus conspiracy against China will backfire, seriously damaging its relations with China, industry observers said.

Young consumers made a 100-meter queue outside Shanghai's iconic New World City mall on Monday night, buying everything from lipstick to sneakers and cars, part of the city's shopping campaign in which more than 10 billion yuan ($1.42 billion) of consumer goods were sold within 18 hours.

Although the coronavirus has been largely contained in China, it is still spreading overseas, and that's causing a drop in export orders, leaving many workers in China's contract factories facing layoffs, pay cuts and furloughs.

Chinese medical experts on Monday urged all countries to find their Patient Zeros of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which is a challenging but very necessary task.

Beijing's Xicheng district will issue digital vouchers worth 150 million yuan ($21.2 million) in the three months starting from Wednesday, the first district in the Chinese capital to do so, in a bid to unleash local residents' pent-up demand and to speed up the recovery of an economy battered by COVID-19.

A push from some US politicians to block the US federal pension fund from investing in Chinese companies such as ZTE and Hikvision is another attempt by Washington to politicize rational economic cooperation between the two countries.

The unprecedented crude oil price collapse on the global market is good news for China, a major oil importer, which will enable the country to build up strategic reserves at favorable prices, Chinese analysts said.

The peak of Mount Qomolangma (Mount Everest), the world's highest point at 8,848 meters above sea level, is expected to be covered by 5G signal on Saturday, according to Chinese telecom operators, marking a significant step in China's 5G capability.

China's crude oil futures edged down 3 percent on Tuesday's opening, following an overnight slide from a major US oil benchmark into unprecedented negative territory. Analysts say the historic drop in oil prices offers China, a major source of oil imports, a good opportunity to “bottom out” certain oil assets and scale up strategic reserves.

The urban unemployment rate in China hit 5.9 percent in March, official data revealed on Friday, highlighting the widespread repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic, which has created fatal challenges for the country's economy and job market, with experts urging policymakers to prioritize the employment above all economic targets.

China's central bank is one step closer to issuing its official digital currency. It seems the People's Bank of China (PBC), in collaboration with private companies, has completed development of the sovereign digital currency's basic functions and is now drafting relevant laws to pave the way for its circulation, industry insiders said.