China's Xinjiang sees 2,226 westbound international freight trains in 2017 -- Northwest China’s Urumqi Customs supervised a total of 2,226 westbound international freight trains in 2017, up 18.6 percent year on year, according to the local customs. Volume of the westbound international freights amounted to about 1.159 million metric tons (tonnes), worth 16.104 billion U.S. dollars, up 29.8 percent and 57.8 percent year on year, respectively, last year, said the Urumqi Customs. Of the westbound international freight trains, China-Europe freight trains accounted for nearly 90 percent, the Urumqi Customs added.
China's Fujian sees imports from B&R countries up 40pct on year in 2017 -- East China's Fujian province saw its imports from the countries along the Belt and Road routes in 2017 stand at 135.54 billion yuan, up about 40 percent year on year, the chinanews.com quoted Xiamen Customs as saying on February 7. Last year, Fujian's imports and exports with the Belt and Road countries totaled 356.54 billion yuan, showing the increasingly close economic and trade exchanges.
China's non-stop flight network covers 40 B&R countries -- Non-stop flights from the airports in the Chinese mainland had already covered 40 countries along the Belt and Road routes by the end of 2017, according to a report released by Variflight.com on February 6. To be specific, China has seen non-stop flights with 35 Asian countries and five countries in Eastern Europe, said the report. In 2017, transportation capacity of the non-stop flights from the domestic airports to the international or regional airports was 83.291 million seats, up 5 percent year on year. In a breakdown, the transportation capacity of the non-stop flights from the domestic airports to the countries along the Belt and Road was 32.875 million seats, up 21.1 percent year on year, accounting for 39.5 percent of the domestic non-stop flights to the international or regional airports, presenting a year-on-year increase of 5.2 percentage points, according to the report.
Shanghai Customs sees 45 pct surge in e-commerce import orders in 2017 -- The number of cross-border e-commerce imports passing through Shanghai customs was up 45.2 percent to over 16.4 million in 2017, the Shanghai Customs said on February 6. Sales value of these imported products was 3.6 billion yuan (570.77 million U.S. dollars) in 2017, 66.3 percent higher than in 2016. Business-to-Customer (B2C) orders rose by 145 percent to 5.35 million, with the total import value up 89.6 percent to 1.6 billion yuan.
BoCom wealth climate index gains -- The wealth climate index released by Bank of Communications (BoCom) gained in January as households were more optimistic about income growth. The bimonthly index rebounded to 140 from 137 in November, according to a BoCom report on February 6. Readings above 100 indicate wealth growth, while readings below 100 represent loss. BoCom attributed the rise to income increases. "Moderately well-off households across the country were more optimistic about wealth increases, especially those in southern areas."
China's retail sales to grow 10 percent in 2018 -- China is expected to see retail sales of consumer goods expand about 10 percent to exceed 40 trillion yuan (6.38 trillion U.S. dollars) this year, a report showed on February 6. The strong consumption growth will be powered by innovative products and services as more affluent Chinese are willing to pay for higher quality and unique experiences, according to a report from the research institute of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT).
China's service exports expand fast in 2017 -- China's service exports witnessed fast expansion in 2017, outpacing the growth of imports for the first time in seven years, data from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) showed on February 5. The value of service exports gained 10.6 percent to 1.54 trillion yuan (about 240 billion U.S. dollars) last year, while imports increased 5.1 percent to 3.16 trillion yuan, resulting in a 1.62-trillion-yuan deficit, the MOC said in a statement. The overall volume of service trade maintained a steady growth, rising 6.8 percent from the 2016 level to 4.7 trillion yuan, said the MOC.
China's FDI soars amid global slump -- Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the Chinese mainland hit a record high to reach 144 billion U.S. dollars in 2017, while global FDI declined for the second consecutive year, according to the report released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on January 16 had released the data that the country hit a record high to utilize a total foreign investment of 877.56 billion yuan (138.4 billion U.S. dollars) in 2017, up 7.9 percent year on year.
Shenzhen's economy expands 8.8 percent in 2017 -- The economy of the south China metropolis of Shenzhen grew 8.8 percent in 2017, according to the city's statistics bureau. Shenzhen's gross domestic product totaled 2.24 trillion yuan (about 357billion U.S. dollars) last year, driven by its booming real economy, according to the bureau. The city's industrial added value exceeded 808.76 billion yuan, up 9.3 percent from that in 2016, a record high since 2014.
A single purchase
