China's January inflation rate expected to edge up -- China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, is expected to rise 2 percent year-on-year in January, slightly up from 1.9 percent registered in December last year driven mainly by rising food prices. Prices of vegetables and aquatic products went up in January as people were stocking food for the Spring Festival holiday starting Feb. 4.
China's service trade deficit expands in December -- China's deficit in foreign service trade expanded in December, official data showed on February 7. The deficit stood at 22.6 billion U.S. dollars last month, up from 20 billion dollars in November, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in a statement. Income from trade in services stood at 23.1 billion dollars last month, while expenditure was 45.7 billion dollars.
Taiwan CPI edges up 0.2 pct in January -- Taiwan's consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.2 percent year on year in January, the island's statistical agency said on February 12. The core CPI, which excludes the price of fruits, vegetables and energy products, rose 0.53 percent year on year. The wholesale price index (WPI) climbed 0.75 percent year on year in January. On a monthly basis, the January CPI was down 0.09 percent and the WPI dipped 0.33 percent from December.
China's internet service sector expands fast in 2018 -- China's internet service and related sectors saw fast revenue growth in 2018, with e-commerce and online gaming continuing steady expansion. The sectors' total revenue amounted to 956.2 billion yuan (about 142 billion U.S. dollars), up 20.3 percent from 2017, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). Guangdong, Shanghai and Beijing, the top three cities in internet service revenue, recorded a growth of 26.5 percent, 20 percent and 25.2 percent, respectively.
China's telecom sector maintains steady growth -- China's telecom sector's revenue rose 3 percent year on year to 1.3 trillion yuan (more than 190 billion U.S. dollars) in 2018, according to a report of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Given vigorous development of social networking apps, the proportion of phone call charges in the total telecom revenue dropped further to 13.7 percent last year from 17.9 percent in 2017.
China's software sector maintains rapid growth in 2018 -- China's software and IT services reported steady revenue and profit increases last year, official sources said. The sector's total revenue amounted to 6.31 trillion yuan (about 940 billion U.S. dollars) in 2018, up 14.2 percent from a year earlier, the same growth pace as 2017, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Its profitability also improved. Combined profits grew 9.7 percent year on year to reach 807.9 billion yuan.
China steel industry sees profits up 39 pct -- China's steel industry reported profits of 470.4 billion yuan (around 69.7 billion U.S. dollars) in 2018, an increase of 39.3 percent year on year. Crude steel output grew 6.6 percent to 928.26 million tons, whereas steel production hit 1.1 billion tons, up 8.5 percent year on year, according to the National Development and Reform Commission. Steel exports dipped 8.1 percent to reach 69.34 million tons, while imports slid 1 percent to hit 13.17 million tons. Coke exports jumped 20.8 percent year-on-year to 9.75 million tons.
China's high-tech manufacturing sector maintains fast growth -- China's high-tech manufacturing industry grew fast in 2018, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). In 2018, the value added of the high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing industries rose 11.7 percent and 8.1 percent year on year respectively, while the electronic manufacturing sector surging by 13.1 percent, higher than that of the overall manufacturing industry, according to the MIIT. Last year, production of new energy vehicles and smart TVs rose 40.1 percent and 18.7 percent respectively.
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