Road Show (Sichuan) on China’s Participation in Expo 2020 Dubai Held in Chengdu

CCPiT

Road Show （Sichuan） on Chinas Participation in Expo 2020 Dubai Held in Chengdu

The Road Show （Sichuan） on Chinas Participation in Expo 2020 Dubai was held in Chengdu on July 20. The China Pavilion Organizing Committee of Expo 2020 Dubai released its exhibition plan and introduced its latest preparation progress.

Zhang Shenfeng， Vice Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade （CCPIT） and Commissioner General of the China Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai， Deng Xiaogang， Deputy Secretary of CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee， Ni Jian， Ambassador of the Peoples Republic of China to the United Arab Emirates， Ali Al Dhaheri， Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the Peoples Republic of China， and Mohammed Al Hashmi， Chief Technology Officer of Expo 2020 Dubai all attended the launching ceremony of the road show and delivered speeches.

Zhang Shenfeng said that Expo 2020 Dubai will officially kick off in October this year， and in light of the theme of “Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind—Innovation and Opportunity”， the China Pavilion will make its appearance and serve as an important platform for all of mankind to pursue sustainable socio-economic development through joint consultation. Chinas high quality participation in the expo will be significant in terms of further promoting the development of a China-UAE strategic partnership and the pursuit of the Belt and Road Initiative， strengthening exchanges and cooperation between China and the rest of the world， and contributing to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. The participant provinces， districts and cities， as well as enterprises and organizations， are expected to gain a deeper understanding of Expo 2020 Dubai and the China Pavilion through the roadshow. By taking an active part in the activities held by the China Pavilion， participants can make the most of the expo to share ideas， expand exchanges and engage in practical cooperation.

2021 RCEP Members International Trade Digital Expo Opens

On July 28， the 2021 RCEP Members International Trade Digital Expo （hereinafter referred to as “the Expo”） opened in Beijing.

Zhang Shenfeng， Vice Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade （CCPIT）， said in his remarks at the opening ceremony that the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership（RCEP） trade deal highlights that openness and cooperation remain the trend throughout history and that mutual benefit is desired by the people of all the participating countries. The implementation of RCEP will surely promote the wider opening up of China， and increase the cooperation between China and other RCEP member states in the spheres of trade and investment. As an important bridge between domestic and foreign business communities in terms of commercial exchanges， the CCPIT will vigorously promote and implement free trade agreements， injecting new impetus into economic recovery and growth in the region and the world at large.

With over 2，000 exhibitors， the Expo will last 10 days and attract more than 20，000 buyers from RCEP member states to visit online. Several industry matchmaking events will also be held during the Expo.

International Forum on Carbon Emissions Peak and Carbon Neutrality 2021 opens

On July 15， the International Forum on Carbon Emissions Peak and Carbon Neutrality 2021， co-hosted by the China Chamber of International Commerce （CCOIC）， the All-China Environment Federation （ACEF）， and the Beijing Energy Saving， Low-carbon and Environmental Protection Industry Service Association， was held in the New Shougang High-end Industry Comprehensive Service Park （Shougang Park） in Beijing. With the theme of “The Path to Reaching Carbon Emission Peak and Achieving Carbon Neutrality for Business”， the forum aims to promote the reconstruction of the supply chain and value chain from the perspective of “carbon peak and neutrality” for enterprises and to inject new vitality into the green development of enterprises.

Yu Jianlong， Secretary-General of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade （CCPIT） and Executive Vice President and Secretary General of the CCOIC， put forward three suggestions in his speech at the opening ceremony. The first of these was to vigorously promote green and low-carbon development and strive to achieve higher-quality development with less carbon emissions. The second was to take enterprises as the main players in innovation and strive to build a scientific and technological innovation system that leads to green and low-carbon development. The third was to promote international cooperation on low-carbon development， and learn from each other to achieve mutual benefits on this new journey to global carbon neutrality. He also said that the CCPIT and the CCOIC will， as always， encourage enterprises to expand their practical cooperation on green development， and make positive efforts towards Chinas carbon peak and neutrality goals， and to encourage domestic and foreign business communities to tackle the global climate challenge.

Figures

6177

There were 6，177 merger and acquisition deals in China in the first half of this year， an all-time high and up 11% from the level at the end of the second half of last year. However， their value dropped by 29% to USD 312.1 billion， a new report from global accounting firm PwC stated.

6.7%

Chinas volume of foreign trade in services reached RMB 2.38 trillion （USD 368.02 billion）， which was an increase of 6.7% year-on-year according to the Ministry of Commerce.

10

Of the 31 provinces， municipalities and autonomous regions that have released their GDP figures for the first six months of the year， 10 saw their GDP numbers exceeded the national average growth rate of 12.7%.

587.6 billion

Chinas Bond Connect program continued to see robust activity in July， data released by Bond Connect Co.， Ltd. showed. The total monthly trading volume under the program hit RMB 587.6 billion， with an average daily turnover of RMB 26.7 billion.

7.64 billion

In the first six months of the year， Chinas ports handled 7.64 billion metric tons of cargo， up 13.2% year-on-year， and an increase of 13.9% from the same period in 2019， said Sun Wenjian， spokesperson for the Ministry of Transport.

53.3

The purchasing managersindex for Chinas nonmanufacturing sector came in at 53.3 in July， down from 53.5 in June， the National Bureau of Statistics said.

26%

In the first half of this year， Chinas trade growth with five countries in Northeast Asia surged by 26% year-on-year to USD 417.9 billion， while its export and import volumes with Russia and the ROK soared by 28.2% and 28.5%.

67%

First-half revenues for Chinas major industrial companies saw a steady recovery， yielding an almost 67% year-on-year surge in their combined profit， while private enterprises and smaller firms still face big challenges in their attempts to grow their profits.

18.7%

Online retail sales of physical goods rose 18.7% year-on-year， up 4.4 percentage points from the same period last year.

7300

The China-Europe freighttrain service handled more than 7，300 trips in the first half of this year， up 43% from the same period last year， data by the China State Railway Group Co.， Ltd. showed.

28%

The latest figures released by the Nepali Department of Customs showed that trade between Nepal and China grew by over 28% in the 2020-21 fiscal year that ended in mid-July despite the raging COVID-19 pandemic.

106%

The sales revenue of Chinese enterprises increased by 34.4% in the first half of the year， according to information released by the State Taxation Administration.

QuoTes

Global communications and exchanges of views have become more vital and necessary than ever. Recovery from the pandemic requires coordination and cooperation among countries， instead of confrontation.

— Jin Xu， Chairman of the China Association of International Trade

Cross-border inbound activities were adversely affected by COVID-related travel restrictions. In terms of deal volumes， the increase， particularly in the first quarter， was driven mainly by industrial upgrades， technology and consumer sectors.

— Roger Liu， leader of PwCs practice relating to private equity in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong

With Chinese residents spending more in services-related consumption areas， the innovation capability of sectors such as culture， education， tourism， sports， care for the elderly and home service sectors has notably improved.

— Zhang Yongjun， a researcher at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges in Beijing

High-level reform and opening-up will provide a convenient and open environment and institutional guarantee for multinationals， thus increasing their interests in investing in China.

— Nie Pingxiang， a researcher with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation（CAITEC） under the Ministry of Commerce

Overseas orders are flowing into China at a fast pace； as such， it is vital for Chinese enterprises to form closer partnerships with upstream and downstream enterprises to ensure their profitability.

— Song Yijia， Chairwoman of Jiangsu S&S Intelligent Science and Technology Co.， Ltd.

This institutional determination， articulated with a long-term vision combined with reasonably flexible short- to medium-term targets， has enabled China to achieve infrastructure investment， which has favored general interest.

— Denis Depoux， Global Managing Director at consultancy Roland Berger

Authorities Gain Clarity on Digital Money

Chinese central bank officials and international financial organizations are in agreement that the use of crypto-assets such as unauthorized cryptocurrencies in national payment systems will threaten economic stability and disrupt the existing monetary policy framework； however， central bank digital currencies with legal tender status， such as Chinas e-CNY， will benefit the system.

Some leading central banks such as the Peoples Bank of China are accelerating the design and trials of their own digital currencies as monetary authorities across the world agree that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are too volatile as they are not backed by valuable assets.

Sources close to the PBOC told China Daily that financial regulators are mulling over amendments to the central bank law and promoting regulations on the digital RMB or e-CNY.

One of the key efforts is to enhance the protection of personal information and secure the entire operational system behind e-CNY.

In order to avoid risky and illegal financial activities while protecting users privacy， e-CNY can be involved in anonymous transactions if the amount involved is small. For transactions involving large sums that may trigger suspicions， financial regulators would have the right to track same， in order to prevent crimes such as money laundering and the financing of terror-related activities.

However， more issues need to be researched to assess the potential impli- cations such as digital moneys impacts on the monetary policy framework and the legal system， sources said.

According to a PBOC white paper on e-CNY research and development， regulation of the digital renminbi should be based on the principle of ensuring its legal tender status.

China Ramps up Market Regulation of Food and Medicine

China has expanded its list of illegal and dishonest market behaviors in the food， medicine and special equipment sectors， the countrys market regulator explained recently.

The list focuses on those sectors that are directly related to peoples life， and health and safety， said the State Administration for Market Regulation.

The enlarged list， which comes into force on September 1， is expected to help tighten the crackdown on market irregularities and acts of dishonesty， the administration said.

The country has also stepped up measures to optimize its credit-based market-regulation mechanism， such as strengthening information disclosure and encouraging credit repair， according to the administration.

Chinas Fortune Global 500 Companies Rise to 143

Chinese companies have thronged the 2021 Fortune Global 500 list amid steady economic fundamentals and healthy business growth in the country.

A total of 143 Chinese companies made it into the Global 500 list this year， surpassing runner-up United States for the second consecutive year.

China had more Fortune Global 500 companies than the U.S. for the first time in 2020， with 133 firms on the list.

The State Grid Corporation of China （SGCC） moved up to the second spot this year， ranking only after U.S. retail giant Walmart.

China National Petroleum Corporation （CNPC）， the countrys largest oil and gas producer， and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation （Sinopec Corp.）， the countrys largest oil refiner， took fourth and fifth place， respectively.

This strong performance indicates that China has maintained a robust economic growth while businesses are growing healthily， noted Pan Helin， an expert in economics at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law.

This year， the newcomers include more private companies， as well as those operating in the Internet， medicine and manufacturing industries. This demonstrates that the optimization of the economic structure is in a virtuous cycle， and the countrys high-quality development has taken solid steps， Pan said.