5.1Million tons

5.1 Million tons

Cotton output in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region topped 5.1 million tons in 2021， maintaining its lead in China for over two decades， according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Trade in Services Maintains Strong Growth

China’s services trade continued to maintain a healthy growth momentum from January to October in 2021， a Ministry of Commerce spokeswoman said at a recent press conference. Imports and exports of services totaled RMB 4.2 trillion， up 12.7 percent year on year. Exports made up RMB 2.0 trillion， up 29 percent， and imports totaled RMB 2，200.6 billion， up 1.1 percent.

During the period， the growth rate of service exports was 27.9 percentage points higher than that of imports， driving the service trade deficit down 67.6 percent to RMB 203.17 billion， a year-on-year decrease of RMB 424.7 billion.

Digitalization of services opens up new horizons for the development of trade in services and increases the proportion of trade in knowledge-intensive services. The import and export of knowledge-intensive services approached RMB 1.86 trillion， up 13.3 percent， accounting for 44.2 percent of China’s total import and export of services， an increase of 0.2 percentage points.

It is estimated that by 2025， China’s total trade in services that could be digitalized will exceed US $400 billion， accounting for about half of the total trade in services.

China to Advance Agricultural and Rural Modernization

The State Council has released a plan to advance agricultural and rural modernization during the 14th Five-Year Plan period（2021-2025）， Deng Xiaogang， vice minister of agricultural and rural affairs， said at a news conference recently.

According to the plan， regions with better conditions will take the lead in realizing agricultural and rural modernization， while consolidating and expanding the achievements in poverty alleviation will be effectively aligned with rural vitalization in regions that have shaken off poverty.

FTZs on Fast Track to Boost Opening-up

China has signed 19 free trade agreements with 26 countries and regions， according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The ministry is speeding up efforts to bring those agreements into force. Both RCEP and the China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement come into force on January 1， 2022. In addition to accelerating the implementation of the agreements， it will also actively promote the accession of China to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership （CPTPP） and Digital Economy Partnership Agreement （DEPA）， and advance the free trade negotiations between China， Japan， and the Republic of Korea， as well as with the Gulf Cooperation Council， Israel， and Norway.

China will build the free trade zones to be more open and innovative with the ultimate goal of promoting international cooperation and achieving mutual benefit.

100 Logistics Bases

China plans to set up about 100 national backbone cold-chain logistics bases during the 14th FiveYear Plan period （2021-2025）， the country’s top economic planner said in December 2021.

Plans to Enhance Grain Security

China has launched six improvement plans to boost a flagship high-quality grain project， according to the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration. The plans， which involve green storage， brand promotion， quality tracking， mechanization， emergency supplies， and food saving， are expected to ensure sustainable national food security.

The grain quality and brand improvement plan said that by the year 2025， the supply of high-quality gain will be more abundant， and the amount will see an annual increase of 10 percent. The country will cultivate more grain and oil brands that have a higher market competitiveness. The online and offline grain market， which includes emergency supply centers and staple food kitchens， should be improved to progress from “eating enough” to “eating healthily.”

The quality tracking plan aims to trace the quality of grains and edible oil throughout the entire production chain to ensure food safety and quality from the farmland to the dining table.

To reduce food loss in post-harvest procedures， one plan focuses on promoting the application of technology that will help reduce such waste and loss. New laws and standards will be enacted， public awareness activities will be launched， and coordinated measures will be adopted to tackle waste during the process of storage， transport， processing， and consumption.

Power Supply in Tibet Better Guaranteed

With extension and improvements made to power grids in Tibet， power consumption in the region has increased at an annual rate of 13.77 percent during 2016-2020， reaching 8.25 billion kWh in 2020. The multiple power plants built in the autonomous region over these five years have reduced generation cost and alleviated power shortages during spring and winter seasons. As a result， this makes electricity supply more stable and secure. With large power grids covering all the 74 counties and urban districts in Tibet， the reliability of power supply now stands at 99.33 percent.