China in November increased steelmaking by 2.5% YoY against the same month last year – up to 78.4 million tons, according to the State Statistics Office of the country. Meanwhile, relative to October, production decreased by 4.3%.
In January-November, steel output decreased by 2.7% YoY and amounted to 929.19 million tons.
The production of pig iron in China last month amounted to 67.5 million tons, which is 4.1% more than a year earlier, but 3.9% lower than in October. The country produced 782.8 million tons of pig iron in the eleven-month period, down 3.5% from the volume for the same period in 2023.
China has been the world’s biggest steel producer for years.
The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) is accelerating the development and creation of a unified national credit information disclosure platform, according to a report on the regulator’s website. The system is expected to be launched at the end of this year or early next year.
Business entities will be able to register on the platform through an electronic license to conduct commercial activities. In addition to their credit status, they will be able to obtain data on fines and violations, illegal and inaccurate information.
In the event of a change in credit history, companies will be able to apply for a credit rating improvement (“credit restoration”).
“The development and construction of a unified platform will further optimize the credit restoration mechanism, provide businesses with more efficient and convenient services, and play a positive role in encouraging businesses to restore their credit history and promote quality development,” SAMR said in a statement.
China plans to increase the penetration rate of 5G communication network among individual users to more than 85% by the end of 2027, according to an action plan developed by the Ministry of Industry and Informatization of China in cooperation with 11 other agencies. In three years, there will be 38 5G base stations for every 10 thousand people. At the same time, 5G will account for 75% of mobile Internet traffic, and the number of “Internet of Things” terminals connected to 5G will exceed 100 million.
The 5G penetration rate in large and medium-sized industrial companies will reach 45% by the end of 2027, according to a document cited by Xinhua.
The ministries’ plan is aimed, in particular, at actively promoting the large-scale development of 5G applications, popularizing and applying new generation information technologies.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Informatization, as of the end of September, the number of 5G base stations in the country amounted to about 4.09 million units, and the number of 5G mobile subscribers was 981 million. The 5G penetration rate among individual users has almost reached 70%, with the total population of the country at around 1.4 billion people.
In the first three quarters of 2024, Ukraine exported 12.6 thousand tons of frozen cattle meat, which is 20.3% less than in the same period last year.
This is evidenced by the data of the State Customs Service.
Revenue from exports of these products decreased by 18.9% compared to January-September 2023 – to $50.9 million.
Azerbaijan (37%), China (27.8%) and Uzbekistan (9.7%) bought the most Ukrainian frozen cattle meat during the first nine months of 2024.
China has lifted all restrictions on foreign investors’ access to the country’s manufacturing industry, a landmark move for the world’s second-largest economy, Xinhua news agency reports. On Friday, a new list of sectors of the economy prohibited for foreign investment came into effect, and the last two items related to manufacturing were removed from it. The number of “closed” industries was reduced to 29.
The new document suggests that China’s manufacturing industry has reached a world-leading level of openness. Almost all developing countries impose restrictions on foreign investment in this sector, and even some developed countries continue to maintain certain restrictions, according to experts from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
In 2010, the volume of value added in China’s manufacturing industry exceeded that of the United States for the first time. In 2023, it accounted for approximately 30% of the global total, allowing the country to remain the world’s largest producer for 14 consecutive years.
In recent years, China has seen a steady increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) in high-tech manufacturing. In January-September of this year, the volume of actually utilized foreign investment increased by 57.3% and 29.2% year-on-year in the medical equipment and instrumentation industries, as well as in the computer and office equipment sector.
Ukraine and China are working to open the Chinese market for Ukrainian peas, poultry, corn, and fish products, the press service of the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection reports.
“China is an important market for national exporters of agricultural products, so on behalf of the head of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, Serhiy Tkachuk, the service and the competent authority of China continue to interact on a regular basis. Our goal is to open seven new markets. This is a long process of coordination, but step by step we are succeeding,” said Oleh Osiyan, First Deputy Head of the State Consumer Service, at a meeting with representatives of the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC).
The parties discussed draft bilateral international agreements on the export of peas, wheat flour, pet food, beef, corn, poultry, and wild-caught aquatic products from Ukraine to China. Each of these documents is at a different stage of development and approval.
“Currently, the protocol on peas is at the stage of finalizing domestic approval in Ukraine, and the texts have been sent to the competent authority of China for consideration. This is one of the markets that is at the final stage of opening. After the signing of the bilateral protocol, new opportunities for pea exports will open up for Ukrainian agricultural businesses,” said Vadym Chaikovskyi, Deputy Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection and Chief State Phytosanitary Inspector of Ukraine.
It should be reminded that the last Ukrainian product to be granted access to the Chinese market was honey. The form of the health certificate for its export was agreed upon earlier this year.
The requirements of the countries of destination for the export of food products of animal and plant origin are published on the official web portal of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection.
“Currently, our Chinese colleagues are considering draft protocols on the export of poultry and fish. The State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection sent its proposals on the text of the protocol in the fall. The protocol on wild-caught aquatic products has already passed domestic approval and is at the stage of final approval by the Chinese side. The texts of the protocols on beef and pet food are also undergoing the stage of internal approval,” said Volodymyr Kusturov, Deputy Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection and Chief State Veterinary Inspector of Ukraine.
Representatives of the State Food and Consumer Service and the GACC discussed in detail the steps for further cooperation, draft bilateral agreements, and agreed to continue active cooperation on the development of international trade between Ukraine and China.
