China's service trade deficit narrows in June -- China continued to see a deficit in foreign service trade in June but the volume has narrowed, data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) showed on July 31.Income from trade in services stood at 20 billion U.S. dollars last month, while expenditure was 42.1 billion dollars, resulting in a deficit of 22.1 billion dollars.The deficit retreated from the 27.6 billion dollars seen a month earlier.
China's factory activity expands at slower rate in July -- The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector came in at 51.2 this month, down from 51.5 in June, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on July 31. Activities of the country's non-manufacturing sector also expanded at a slower pace in July, with its PMI standing at 54, compared with 55 in June.
China's non-manufacturing sector expansion slows down in July -- China's non-manufacturing sector expanded at a slower pace in July, official data showed on July 31. The purchasing managers' index for the sector came in at 54 in July, down from 55 in June, the National Bureau of Statistics said. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below reflects contraction.
China's cultural industry posts steady growth in H1 -- China's cultural industry maintained steady revenue growth in the first half of 2018, boosted by strong gains by news and information service providers, data showed on July 31. Combined revenue of the sector's major companies, whose annual revenue was five million yuan (about 733,500 U.S. dollars) or above, reached 4.22 trillion yuan during the January-June period, up 9.9 percent year on year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).The growth was 0.6 percentage points lower than the first quarter of this year and 1.8 percentage points lower than the same period of last year.
China's energy consumption growth picks up, structure improved -- China's energy consumption in the first half of this year grew at a faster pace compared to the same period last year as use of renewable energy posted steady momentum, official data showed on July 30. Nationwide coal consumption rose 3.1 percent year on year, Li Fulong, an official with the National Energy Administration (NEA), told a press briefing. China's use of petroleum remained steady in the first half, up 2.5 percent year on year, while the use of natural gas saw an increase of 16.8 percent year on year, according to the NEA.
Beijing enterprises' investment along Belt & Road jumps in Jan-May -- In the first five months of this year, direct investment of the Beijing-based enterprises in 19 countries along the Belt and Road routes totaled 125 million U.S. dollars, more than double over the same period last year, www.Chinanews.com reported on July 27. According to the statistics, from 2014 to May, 2018, Beijing-based enterprises' direct investment in 31 countries along the Belt and Road totaled 3.373 billion U.S. dollars, mainly involving the industries of commercial services, manufacturing, and building sectors.
Chinese firms' overseas M&As in H1 up 46pct y-o-y, focusing on energy, power -- In the first half of the year, the amount of overseas mergers and acquisitions (M&As) implemented by the Chinese enterprises stood at 76.6 billion U.S. dollars, representing a year-on-year increase of 46 percent, according to the Securities Daily. During the period, about 40 percent of the overseas M&As launched by the Chinese enterprises took place in the energy and power industries, involving 31.5 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 386.8 percent year on year.
China's Xiamen sees trade with B&R countries in H1 up 10.2pct y-o-y -- East China's Xiamen city saw its foreign trade with the countries along the Belt and Road routes total 87.47 billion yuan in the first half year, up 10.2 percent year on year, according to the local customs. To be specific, its exports to the Belt and Road countries amounted to 47.44 billion yuan during the period, an increase of 2.8 percent year on year, while its imports from those countries stood at 40.03 billion yuan, an increase of 20.6 percent year on year.
China's farm produce prices continue to climb -- Prices of farm produce in China continued to climb in the week ending July 29, with a rise in the cost of 30 types of vegetable, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed. The price index for farm produce edged up 0.9 percent in the past week, following a 0.6 percent gain the previous week, while the index for production materials rose 0.3 percent. The average wholesale price of 30 types of vegetable went up 1.6 percent, compared with a 2.4 percent gain the week earlier
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