International fashion brands in jewelry, handbags, and apparel are now eyeing opportunities in China's booming coffee market, starting to expand their businesses to cross-industry products and services. Chinese experts attribute the new market evolution to China's widening opening-up which has created vast opportunities for global corporations.

China's total imports and exports of goods hit 28.58 trillion yuan ($4.02 trillion) in the first eight months this year, up 6 percent year-on-year, remaining on a steady growth trajectory, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs (GAC) on Tuesday.

In the first eight months this year, trade of goods between China and the US totaled 3.15 trillion yuan ($432 billion), up by 4.4 percent year-on-year, making the US China's third-largest trading partner, according to the latest data released by China's General Administration of Customs (GAC) on Tuesday.

Chinese companies have made marked progress in designing and producing high-performance, energy-efficient chips, as part of the nation's ongoing efforts to bolster its semiconductor sector, industry experts told the Global Times recently.

China's Foreign Ministry on Monday rebutted the so-called updated Hong Kong business advisory released by the US government, saying that the advisory is slandering the laws relevant to safeguarding the national security of Hong Kong and smearing Hong Kong's business environment.

The reported visit by Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers to China later this month signals a furthering of the high-level interactions between China and Australia under the guidance of head-of-state diplomacy and more concrete results with economic and trade issues in focus amid an overall improvement of bilateral relations after years of frayed ties, analysts said on Monday.

With the US House of Representatives set to vote this week to advance the Biosecure Act, which would prohibit US federal agencies from contracting with China's BGI, Wuxi AppTec and other biotech firms under the excuse of "national security," an influential Democratic US congressman is reportedly set to vote against the legislation.

China is supplying the world with low-priced, high-quality rare earths and related products. But there have always been forces attempting to smear China's efforts to boost the normal development of the rare-earth industry for geopolitical and ideological reasons.

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Monday launched an anti-dumping investigation into imports of rapeseed from Canada, as initial evidence shows Canada's dumping of rapeseed in the Chinese market has caused substantial damage to the Chinese domestic industry.

Editor's Note: In recent years, under China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), practical cooperation between China and Angola has yielded substantial results. Angola has become China's second-largest African trading partner, while China is Angola's largest trade partner. An increasing number of Chinese enterprises are investing and operating in Angola, actively participating in the country's economic diversification process. The total investment by Chinese companies in Angola now exceeds $24 billion, with agriculture being an important area of cooperation, according to the Chinese Embassy in Angola. During the just-concluded 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing, António Francisco de Assis (Assis), the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of Angola, talked with the Global Times (GT) reporter Yin Yeping about how his country benefited from the BRI. He also refuted smears by some Western media targeting the initiative.

Norway's seafood industry sees increasing opportunities in the Chinese market, which has emerged as the world's leading market for Atlantic salmon.

South African Ambassador to China Siyabonga Cyprian Cwele told the Global Times on Monday the development of the South African tourism industry is getting a big boost from infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and Chinese companies are the first to be considered as cooperation partners because of good bilateral relations.

State-owned salt lake mining companies have completed a major restructuring on Saturday, forming a new controlling entity, marking a significant step toward the creation of a world-class salt lake industrial base.

Midea Group, the world's largest home appliance maker, announced on Sunday plans to raise up to HK$27 billion ($3.46 billion) in an IPO at the Hong Kong Stock Market, possibly the biggest IPO at the bourse this year.

China on Monday launched an anti-dumping investigation into colza seed imports from Canada, saying that preliminary evidence and data showed that colza seeds originated from Canada are being sold in China at prices lower than normal, suggesting dumping practices.

China's consumer price index (CPI), a key gauge of inflation, grew by 0.6 percent year-on-year in August, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday. It marked the seventh consecutive month that the reading has recorded an expansion.

China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, was up 0.6 percent year on year in August, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday.

Chinese and US officials on Saturday held "professional, rational and pragmatic" talks about policy issues of mutual concern and specific issues raised by the business communities of the two countries, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said, adding to increasing exchanges between officials of the two countries aimed at stabilizing bilateral ties.

China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and Ministry of Commerce jointly issued the 2024 "negative list" for foreign investment access on Sunday, as part of the nation's latest efforts to promote wider opening-up to the outside world.

The Silk Road Maritime Association (SRMA), based in East China's Fujian Province, unveiled its achievements in exploring the global sea shipping market as well as its development strategies, during an industry forum over the weekend, as participating foreign officials said that China's leading capability in the sector will help them build their own logistics networks.

The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) concluded in Beijing on September 6, with both sides vowing to jointly build an All-Weather China-Africa Community with a Shared Future for the New Era, and to pursue modernization and prosperity hand-in-hand.

China and Spain will see more opportunities to deepen their economic cooperation, particularly in key areas such as agriculture and green energy, where both sides have strong complementarities, Chinese experts said, against the backdrop of an official China visit by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez from Sunday to Wednesday by invitation.

As a Chinese commercial aerospace company on Friday provided, for the first time, global low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication services, experts said on Sunday that the launch of China's private satellite network for global communications demonstrates the country's advancing telecom capabilities, with private companies now positioned to compete globally.

The 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) adopted a resolution on further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization at its third plenary session held from July 15 to 18 in Beijing. The resolution emphasized the need to further deepen reform comprehensively with a view to advancing Chinese modernization.

The first shipment of lamb products from Madagascar arrived in Central China's Hunan Province on Sunday. This follows Madagascar's lamb receiving import approval from China last year and represents China's first-ever import of lamb from Africa.

Technology giant Huawei's tri-folding smartphone, the Huawei Mate XT, started accepting subscription orders at 12:08 pm on Saturday, igniting a buying spree.

China on Sunday voiced its strong dissatisfaction with the Netherlands' expanded export controls on photolithography machines. A spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) slammed the US for pressuring other countries to tighten export controls on semiconductors and related equipment, while urging the Netherlands to uphold international trade rules and refrain from abusing export control measures.

More than 600 dignitaries and representatives from sectors of shipping, trade, finance and technology in the world attended the 6th Silk Road Maritimes International Cooperation Forum, which kicked off on Saturday in Xiamen city, East China's Fujian Province.

Chinese investment in Russia's manufacturing sector has become a new highlight, He Zhenwei, president of the China Overseas Development Association, told the Global Times in an interview on Saturday, when commenting on the just concluded 9th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) held in Russian Far East city Vladivostok.

China International Trade Representative and Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen and the US Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Marisa Lago co-chaired the second vice-ministerial meeting of the China-US commercial and trade working group on Saturday in north China's Tianjin Municipality.

In Nairobi, the bustling capital of Kenya, one name is widely known and revered - Mr. Wifi. This nickname refers to Zhou Tao, the founder of Ahadi Corporation. Zhou's company is dedicated to offering affordable internet services and stands as a shining example of how China's "small and beautiful" livelihood projects are elevating China-Africa ties.

Scheduled visits to Taiwan Island by two academic delegations from Xiamen University on the Chinese mainland were blocked by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities for “technical reasons,” Taiwan-based media udn.com said on Friday.

China has submitted a request to Canada for consultations at the WTO on the additional tariffs Ottawa decided to impose on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) and steel and aluminum products, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced on Friday.

Chinese leading securities firm Guotai Junan Securities has announced it will merge with smaller rival Haitong Securities in a bid to build a first-class investment bank and promote the high-quality development of the industry, with both companies having halted trading from Friday.

Chinese and African entrepreneurs enthusiastically endorsed the cooperation between China and Africa at the Eighth Conference of Chinese and African Entrepreneurs, held in Beijing on Friday. They highlighted the significant contributions of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to the social and economic development of African countries.

China and Africa have stepped up efforts to work for a green and more sustainable future, as evidenced by the rising import of Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) to Africa, and the expansion of Chinese EV industry footprint in the African continent, as China-Africa ties grow increasingly stronger.

Lately, some American politicians have again hyped China's "overcapacity," attempting to exert pressure on China and shift the blame of the US' domestic industrial crisis onto China.

Some politicians in the US continue to promote the narrative of “China's overcapacity,” despite it being inconsistent with economic principles and factual evidence. Such irresponsible rhetoric only serves as an excuse for advocating trade protectionism.

Emerging industries such as electric vehicles (EVs) and artificial intelligence (AI) play a very big role in China-Africa cooperation, Allan Majuru, CEO of ZimTrade, the national trade development and promotion organization of Zimbabwe, told the Global Times on Friday on the sidelines of the eighth Conference of Chinese and African Entrepreneurs.

Chinese localities have been ramping up efforts to boost consumption, with increased policy support, including direct financial support, for trade-ins of consumer goods and equipment upgrades at companies, in line with a national campaign to bolster domestic demand amid economic recovery.

The US trade deficit surged by 7.9 percent from the prior month to $78.8 billion in July, the highest level in more than two years. Some political elites may still have an irrational fear about a deficit in foreign trade, even though much of their anxiety is unnecessary.

China has decided to give all least developed countries having diplomatic relations with China, including 33 countries in Africa, zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced on Thursday in a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

“'It smells so good! I can't believe that the biscuits are made of pure millet!' This is always what our African partners would say when they visit our millet processing plant in Burkina Faso,” Zhao Hanqing, deputy general manager of Zhongdi Overseas Agricultural Development Co, told the Global Times.

The training of African e-commerce talent is an important starting point for promoting the development of China-Africa cross-border e-commerce, which will inject impetus into trade.

The People's Bank of China (PBC), the central bank, said on Thursday that there is still room to reduce the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for banks and pledged to continue to implement the supportive monetary policy to shore up the economy. The comments underscored the PBC's commitment to creating a favorable monetary environment to boost market confidence that will help the country's economic recovery, experts said.

US-based electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Tesla announced plans to launch its driving assistance system, Full Self-Driving (FSD) service in China and Europe in the first quarter of 2025, pending regulatory approval.

China's drive to internationalize its currency yuan isn't aimed at replacing the US dollar's global role, but to maintain the stability of global industry and supply chains, Huang Qifan, an academic counselor of the China Finance 40 Forum (CF40) and the former mayor of Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, said at a business forum on Thursday.

With the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) being held in Beijing from Wednesday to Friday, unfounded "debt trap" allegations against China-Africa cooperation are circulating once again.

A new air corridor linking Shanghai and Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan Province, will commence operations on Thursday, aimed at reducing congestion for east-west flights and enhancing connectivity with some Southeast Asian countries, including Myanmar and Laos.

Hong Kong will create better environment for expanding yuan usage, offering more yuan products and risk management tools to enable international investors to use yuan for trade and investment, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Thursday.

The Silk Road Maritime International Association, based in Fujian Province, is implementing a comprehensive development strategy to promote a global sea transportation network under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), offering stable and secure logistics solutions amid complex international environment.

The Chinese Embassy in Thailand on Wednesday addressed concerns regarding the trade imbalance between China and Thailand, emphasizing that the trade relationship is market-driven and influenced by supply and demand. The embassy clarified that China does not aim to build a trade surplus with Thailand. Instead, it has consistently provided support and convenience for Thailand's exports to China.

China is increasingly becoming an attractive hub for German companies to carry out research and development (R&D) to remain competitive in both the local and global markets, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on Tuesday, citing a survey released by the German Chamber of Commerce in China. Such studies offer a new perspective for people to see the economic interaction between China and the EU.

China's outbound tourism market has continued to boom, with Africa becoming a popular destination for Chinese tourists. China-Africa tourism is heating up and seeing expanding cooperation, especially in the services sector, which will inject impetus into economic development, industry insiders said.

The People's Bank of China (PBC) and the Bank of Mauritius signed a bilateral currency swap agreement, the PBC said on Wednesday, a fresh example of enhanced cooperation in the financial field between China and Africa.

Chinese localities have stepped up cooperation with African countries by utilizing local strengths covering various fields from traditional agriculture to the emerging digital economy, Chinese officials from East China's Zhejiang Province and Central China's Hunan Province said on Wednesday at press conferences for the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

China has signed intellectual property (IP) cooperation agreements with 57 Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) partner countries, continually deepening bilateral cooperation with them, an official of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) said at a monthly press conference on Wednesday.

Mercedes-Benz Group on Wednesday said that it plans to invest more than 14 billion yuan ($1.97 billion) with local partners in China to enrich its localized portfolio of cars and vans, a move that further highlights its continuous confidence in China.

In response to national initiatives aimed at boosting consumption, multiple Chinese online platforms are advancing efforts to allow interoperability among different payment channels. This move, combined with the distribution of consumer vouchers and promotions for trade-ins, is set to significantly elevate China's consumption recovery.

Simplified trade rules and "green lanes" will enable more high-value African goods to enter Chinese market, African experts said. The comments came during the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) being held in Beijing from Wednesday to Friday.

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Tuesday announced decisive measures against Canada, including plans to initiate dispute settlement proceedings at the WTO and launch an anti-discrimination probe, after Canada's decision to impose hefty additional tariffs on Chinese products, including electric vehicles (EVs), steel and aluminum.

A local resident from Xuzhai Village in Dongyang, East China's Zhejiang Province, makes decorated lanterns for the Mid-Autumn Festival on September 3, 2024. Decorated lanterns from Xuzhai Village have a long history, integrating multiple techniques including wood carving, bamboo weaving and tailoring. They're sold in other parts of China as well as overseas markets. Photo: VCG

Around 1,000 business representatives from China and African countries will come together and share opportunities in investment, trade and industries at the upcoming Eighth Conference of Chinese and African Entrepreneurs, which will be held in Beijing on Friday, the latest reflection of stronger China-Africa economic and trade ties.

China-Africa cooperation sees greater opportunities in green transformation as both sides embrace high-quality cooperation in the new era, Chinese officials and experts said ahead of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which will be held from Wednesday to Friday in Beijing.

A worker is busy filling international orders for LED chips at a factory in Suqian, East China's Jiangsu Province, on September 3, 2024. According to the General Administration of Customs, China's exports of high-tech products totaled 3.45 trillion yuan ($484.7 billion) in the first seven months of 2024, a 7 percent year-on-year increase. Photo: VCG

China and the UN are co-hosting a major workshop on artificial intelligence (AI) and capacity building from Tuesday to Friday in Shanghai. The event welcomed representatives from nearly 40 nations as well as UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who attended the opening ceremony.

In August, US-based Tesla set a new monthly sales record for the year in China, with shipments from its Shanghai Gigafactory rising for the second straight month. Experts see this boost as a strong indicator of the expanding business potential for foreign investors in the vast Chinese market.

The European Semiconductor Industry Association (ESIA), a major computer chip industry group, on Monday reportedly called on the incoming European Commission to impose fewer chip export restrictions while focusing on areas where European companies have advantages.

China-based solar panel manufacturer Jinko Solar Co's plant in the US state of Florida has secured tax credits under the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), despite the ongoing crackdown on the Chinese photovoltaic (PV) industry by Washington in recent years, according to media reports on Tuesday.

"Three, two, one, get (Rwanda coffee) on the cart! Sold out!" Back in May 2020, James Kimonyo, Rwandan Ambassador to China, joined an online livestreaming event on e-commerce platform Taobao, during which he sold nearly 1.5 tons of Rwanda coffee beans in just a few seconds, before even finishing an introduction to the products. This amount is equivalent to Rwanda's total coffee bean sales from the previous year.

China CSSC Holdings and China Shipbuilding Industry Corp (CSIC) announced on Monday a plan to merge through a share swap. With market values of hundreds of billions of yuan each, these two prominent shipbuilding companies are set to consolidate into a global industry leader in terms of assets, revenue and order backlogs. This merger will cement China's position as the world's largest shipbuilding country in terms of comprehensive competitiveness.

Cranes sway their giant arms, railway tracks crisscross, containers are stacked up... walking in the Guoyuan port in Southwest China's Chongqing, one can feel the strong pulse of the mountainous city's development. And for foreign journalists, seeing the bustling activities up close brings fresh understanding of China's economic story.

Chinese scientists have successfully developed ultra-high pure graphite, reflecting that the China's graphite products now reach the world's leading standards, Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday.

China's technological development in tunnel boring machines (TBMs) has greatly advanced, from scratch to cutting-edge over the past decade, exemplifying the country's progress in high-tech manufacturing.

China's Commerce Ministry announced on Tuesday that it will launch anti-dumping investigations into #canola seeds imported from Canada in line with domestic laws and regulations and WTO rules. It will also launch anti-dumping probes into certain chemical products imported from Canada based on the application made by domestic enterprises.

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Tuesday announced decisive measures against Canada, including plans to initiate dispute settlement proceedings at the WTO and launch an anti-discriminatory probe, after Canada's decision to impose hefty additional tariffs on Chinese products, including electric vehicles (EVs), steel and aluminum.

China facilitated 110 million cross-border passenger trips in July and August, which marks a year-on-year increase of 30.0% and a 13.0% increase from the May-June period, said the National Immigration Administration on Tuesday.

Monday marked the third anniversary since the establishment of the Beijing Stock Exchange (BSE) was announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the first bourse based in the capital city, at the China International Fair for Trade in Services in September 2021. Based on various institutional innovations and market reforms, the BSE has developed rapidly since its inception, and has become an accelerator that's turbocharging the growth of innovation-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The General Administration of Customs (GAC) announced plans to resume imports of Wendan pomelos from the Taiwan region starting on Monday, ending an import freeze of a little more than two years.

New cooperation plans within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are expected to be signed among China and African countries during the upcoming 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which will be held from Wednesday to Friday, an official from China's top economic planner said on Monday.

As many leaders from African countries arrived in China for the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), some visited various Chinese localities in addition to Beijing, where the summit is set to take place from Wednesday to Friday.

Options for four nonferrous metals - lead, nickel, tin and aluminum oxide - were listed on the Shanghai Futures Exchange on Monday. This development represents the more complete coverage of options in the nonferrous metal sector in China, offering a more comprehensive risk management tool for industries within this sector, according to Chinese financial news site stcn.com.

As Saudi Arabia's Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim AlKhorayef and an economic delegation embarked on a visit to China and Singapore, Chinese experts said on Monday that the visit to China will focus on enhancing bilateral cooperation in the vehicle, automation and technology sectors.

China's State Council, the cabinet, on Monday issued a guideline on high-level opening-up in the services sector, containing 20 specific measures including improving the negative list mechanism for cross-border trade in services.

Several leading Chinese industry groups have slammed the Canadian government's politically motivated decision to impose additional hefty tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum products, as well as electric vehicles (EVs), warning the move will backfire.

China's manufacturing sector showed signs of improvement in August, with the Caixin Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rising to 50.4, up 0.6 percentage points from July, bringing the index back above the expansion threshold.

“The whole world loves pandas, and no one can resist them. We were deeply moved by the sight of a panda,” Denisa Petrilakova, editor of domestic and foreign news from Czech Media Agency, told the Global Times when she saw baby twin pandas - Yu Ke and Yu Ai - in Chongqing Zoo.

The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), to be held in Beijing from Wednesday to Friday, will help accelerate economic development in Africa, especially infrastructure projects and the new-energy sector cooperation, an Egyptian scholar told the Global Times in a recent interview.

With the sweltering heat of summer gradually fading, the two-month-long summer travel season has come to a triumphant close, marking not just a feast for China's tourism market but also a display of the country's robust economic vitality.

Many countries in the world now face a shrinking, and simultaneously aging, population, which, if not promptly reversed or mitigated, could negatively impact the sustainable growth of their economies. A sufficient number of people is indispensable for running and reinforcing the operation of a functioning economy.

China Eastern Airlines on Sunday welcomed its 500,000th C919 passenger surnamed Lu after 15 months of operation, on a flight from Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province to Shanghai. This shows travelers' enthusiasm for the China-built large passenger aircraft.

Chinese and African experts thought highly of the achievements in bilateral agricultural cooperation and expressed hopes for further exploring this potential, ahead of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) scheduled to be held in Beijing from Wednesday to Friday.

The customs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) further extended the scope of service of the Free Trade Agreement Transshipment Facilitation Scheme (FTA Scheme) to cover transshipments from the Chinese mainland to Vietnam and Nicaragua via the HKSAR, and from Serbia via the HKSAR to the mainland, per a statement the customs released on Sunday.

China's new-energy vehicle (NEV) sector is still on a robust upward trajectory, with industry insiders projecting production and sales both to exceed 10 million units by November this year, with sustained growth of 10-20 percent annually in the future.

The US government's decision to once again postpone the announcement of a final determination for additional tariffs on a wide range of Chinese products, including electric vehicles (EVs), fully reflected the growing opposition from US businesses and industries, Chinese experts said on Sunday.

Chinese airlines continue to show strong interest in expanding their global market presence, with some carriers doubling their overseas traffic volumes, and market watchers said that the airlines will maintain a fast recovery pace for flying international routes.

During the 2024 Belt and Road Journalists Forum, several foreign journalists hailed the development model of Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, which is driven by the green development and new quality productive forces. They noted that Chongqing has provided pragmatic experience for their home cities' future upgrade and high-quality development.

The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector, which gauges activity in the sector, came in at 49.1 in August, but multiple indicators suggest that the momentum of industrial upgrading remains strong.

China's technological innovation and industrial transformation calls for an increasingly educated and skilled workforce. Since the start of reform and opening-up, China's education sector has rapidly evolved, with compulsory education becoming universally available and higher education expanding, laying a solid foundation for improving the country's human resources and demographic structure.

The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), held from July 15 to 18, made systematic plans for further deepening reform comprehensively with an emphasis on building the high-standard socialist market economy.