China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic held talks in Paris on June 3 on the EU's anti-subsidy case involving Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), China's anti-dumping investigation into brandy originating from the EU, and export control policies, a Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said Saturday. The two sides conducted focused, candid and in-depth discussions on urgent and important issues including the above during their talks, and instructed their work teams to step up efforts to make economic and trade preparations for the important agenda between China and the EU this year, the spokesperson said. They conducted a professional, in-depth discussion on the EV case, making a significant step in the right direction toward proper resolution of the case, the ministry said.

China's producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, went down 3.3 percent year on year in May, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Monday. On a month-on-month basis, the PPI dropped 0.4 percent in May, according to the NBS data. NBS statistician Dong Lijuan attributed the decline of PPI to falling international crude prices, which drove down domestic prices in petroleum-related industries, as well as a seasonal slowdown in demand for energy and raw materials, with coal prices easing and construction activity disrupted by hot and rainy weather in southern regions.

China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, was down 0.1 percent year on year in May, official data showed on Monday. On a monthly basis, the CPI dipped 0.2 percent last month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, climbed 0.6 percent year on year in May, accelerating from a rise of 0.5 percent registered in April. For the January-May period, the country's CPI averaged a 0.1-percent decline compared with the same period last year, according to the NBS.

From new energy vehicles (NEVs) to shared visions of a greener future, low-carbon development brought China and its fellow Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) member states closer together at a recent dialogue in Hefei, east China's Anhui Province. The dialogue was focused on NEVs and advanced photovoltaic industrial and supply chains, and spotlighted the growing resolve of participating countries to transform mobility and advance sustainable development. It was a key part of the 2025 RCEP Local Governments and Friendship Cities Cooperation (Huangshan) Forum, which ran from June 4 to 6 and brought together approximately 300 delegates from all 15 RCEP member states. The forum yielded 27 cooperation deals spanning trade, technology and sister-city ties.

Foreign-invested firms in China recorded a 4 percent year-on-year growth in exports and imports in May, marking the fourth consecutive month of growth, official data showed Monday. The total trade volume of foreign enterprises in China reached 1.11 trillion yuan (over 154.47 billion U.S. dollars) last month, according to the General Administration of Customs. In the first five months of 2025, over 73,000 foreign enterprises in China were involved in export and import activities, the highest number for the same period in five years.

China's total goods imports and exports in yuan-denominated terms rose to 17.94 trillion yuan (about 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first five months of 2025, up 2.5 percent year on year, official data showed Monday. The growth rate marked an increase of 0.1 percentage points compared to that registered in the first four months of 2025, according to the General Administration of Customs. During the first five months of 2025, China's exports rose 7.2 percent year on year to 10.67 trillion yuan while imports fell 3.8 percent to 7.27 trillion yuan. In May alone, China's total goods imports and exports in yuan-denominated terms rose 2.7 percent year on year, the data showed. Last month, goods exports rose 6.3 percent year on year, while imports went down 2.1 percent, according to the data.

China's foreign exchange reserves totaled 3.2853 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of May 2025, up by 3.6 billion U.S. dollars, or 0.11 percent, compared to the end of April, official data showed Saturday. The combined effects of currency translation and asset price changes led to the increase in China's foreign exchange reserves in May, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said in a statement. China's economy has continued to recover and improve, and the quality of economic development has steadily improved, providing support for maintaining the stability of the country's foreign exchange reserves, the statement added.

In pursuit of greener growth, China is steadily incorporating resources and environmental factors into the market framework as tradable production inputs, ensuring their value is more visible across the economy. The latest move came in late May, when Chinese authorities unveiled a high-level guideline to accelerate the development of trading markets for carbon emission rights, water utilization rights, and pollution discharge permits. According to the guideline, by 2027, China will have established a basically complete carbon emission and water trading system, and a more well-functioning trading system for pollution discharge rights. The guideline also envisions more vibrant markets, better price formation, and stronger support for national environmental goals through efficient flows and allocation of resources and environmental factors.

The Chinese government reviews applications for rare earth export licences in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, and approves compliant applications, China's commerce ministry said Thursday. Ministry spokesperson He Yongqian made the remarks in response to a journalist query regarding China's rare earth export licensing. Rare earths and related items have obvious dual-use attributes as they can be used for both military and civilian purposes, the spokesperson said, noting that imposing export controls on these items is a common international practice.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, said Thursday that it will conduct a 1-trillion-yuan (about 139 billion U.S. dollars) outright reverse repo operation on Friday to maintain ample liquidity in the banking system. The operation will carry a three-month tenor and be conducted using a fixed-quantity, interest-rate-bidding and multiple-price-bidding method, according to the PBOC statement. The move is expected to ensure sufficient liquidity in the banking system, keep fluctuations in money markets under control and anchor market expectations, said Wang Qing, chief macro analyst at Golden Credit Rating.

According to a guideline issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the NEA on Tuesday, energy authorities and grid operators in China are required to take concrete steps to further improve electricity connectivity, with the goal of establishing a modern, efficient business environment for electricity services across the country by 2029. The guideline outlines measures across 14 key areas to improve electricity services, including expanding "zero-investment" low-voltage electricity connection services for private enterprises and the introduction of strict timelines for completing connection procedures, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

China will work to remove bottlenecks and obstacles restricting the circulation and consumption of automobiles, and promote the healthy development of the automotive sector, He Yongqian, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday. The automotive industry is a strategic and pillar industry of China's national economy and plays a key role in maintaining stable growth and expanding consumption, He told a regular press conference. In recent years, the ministry has implemented a car trade-in program and piloted reforms in automobile circulation and consumption to unlock market potential and foster new growth points, the spokesperson added.

Big institutional investors are leaving the United States as U.S. administration's trade wars and the country's rapidly mounting government debt have shaken confidence in American assets, according to a Financial Times report on Thursday. The report cited Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, Canada's second-largest pension fund, as saying that it would reduce its exposure to the United States and increase investments in Britain, France and Germany. New York-based investment firm Neuberger Berman has made 65 percent of its private equity co-investments in Europe this year, up from 20-30 percent in recent years, according to Joana Rocha Scaff, its head of European private equity.

The 9th China-South Asia Expo will be held from June 19 to 24 in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, a Chinese commerce official announced Friday. Co-hosted by the Ministry of Commerce and the Yunnan provincial government, the event will be one of the most important events for economic and trade exchanges between China and South Asian nations this year, vice minister of commerce Yan Dong told a press conference. In 2024, trade between China and South Asian countries approached 200 billion U.S. dollars, doubling over the past decade with an average annual growth rate of 6.3 percent, Yan said.

By the end of 2024, China had 31.4 million new energy vehicles, representing about 9 percent of its automobile fleet. Following the government's launch of trade-in policies, consumer interest in upgrading vehicles surged, which in turn further expanded the recycling market. China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology mandated that passenger vehicle manufacturers provide an 8-year or 120,000-kilometer warranty on core components such as batteries starting from 2016. Market forecasts indicate that China's retired power batteries will hit 1.04 million tonnes in 2025 and may surge to 3.5 million tonnes by 2030.

A number of major Chinese trade hubs have expanded international routes to diversify their overseas markets, with Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong Province revealing a plan to develop international maritime routes to Europe, Oceania, and Africa, in order to increase the frequency of cross-border e-commerce shipping lines. Shenzhen has issued a plan with 20 measures to promote the high-quality development of services and digital trade, according to an article posted on the official WeChat account of the Shenzhen Government Information Office on Wednesday. The plan covers four areas - promoting the efficient flow of trade resources, innovating and developing digital trade, comprehensively enhancing services trade, and improving the support system.

China will launch a pilot in some 30 cities to integrate human resources (HR) services with the manufacturing sector, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said Wednesday. The joint initiative, with three other government departments, aims to drive high-quality sufficient employment while accelerating the development of a modern industrial system, the ministry said. Currently, China's HR service providers cater to over 50 million employers annually, with about 40 percent being manufacturing enterprises, and the sector has developed service scenarios targeting the manufacturing sector, according to the ministry.

China's Ministry of Finance on Wednesday issued this year's third batch of yuan-denominated treasury bonds -- worth a total of 12.5 billion yuan (about 1.74 billion U.S. dollars) -- in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The issuance included 3.5 billion yuan of two-year bonds, 3 billion yuan of three-year bonds, 3 billion yuan of five-year bonds, and 3 billion yuan of 10-year bonds, according to the ministry. These bonds have respective interest rates of 1.49 percent, 1.52 percent, 1.6 percent, and 1.75 percent. This latest issuance has been well-received among investors, with the total bid amount coming in at 3.96 times the amount in circulation, the ministry said. Last month, it announced that it would issue six batches of yuan-denominated treasury bonds in the HKSAR this year, with all six batches totaling 68 billion yuan.

The U.S. administration has pressed its trading partners via letters to submit their best offers by Wednesday, the White House confirmed Tuesday. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the letters sent from the United States Trade Representative were "just to give them a friendly reminder that the deadline is coming up." Leavitt added that the Trump administration officials are still in talks with trade partners to strike deals during the 90-day pause.

China Southern Airlines on Wednesday operated its first commercial flight using the domestically-made C919 aircraft on the route from Guangzhou in South China's Guangdong Province to Nanyang in Central China's Henan Province. This marks the jet's commercial debut at a Chinese regional airport, the Global Times learned from the air carrier on Thursday. Flight CZ3383, carrying 139 passengers, landed at Nanyang's Jiangying Airport at 11:57 pm on Wednesday. It was the airline's first time deploying C919 on the Guangzhou-Nanyang route, expanding the jet's commercial operations, according to a statement provided to the Global Times. The home-grown C919 plane has made a key advancement in accelerating the development of China's modern aviation system, enhancing connectivity between major and regional routes for a fully integrated network, a China Media Group report said on Thursday.

Building on a positive start in the first quarter of 2025, China's economy is continuing to make steady progress, said Ding Lin, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission. Speaking on the latest episode of China Economic Roundtable, an all-media talk show hosted by Xinhua News Agency, Ding noted that despite a complex external environment, China's economy has remained resilient. Notably, key indicators like industrial production, the service sector, domestic demand and exports have shown robust growth. Ding emphasized China's innovative dynamism, citing 10-percent growth in the high-tech manufacturing sector in April, nearly 4 percentage points higher than the country's overall industrial growth rate.

The numbers of foreign nationals' visits to Chinese cities such as Beijing and Shanghai have picked up to or even surpassed the pre-pandemic levels in 2019, the latest statistics showed. The municipal bureau of statistics in Shanghai recently revealed that the city in April received about 670,900 inbound foreign tourist visits, marking a 40.5 percent year-on-year increase. The figure for April 2019 was 640,800. Over the same period, Beijing saw 454,920 inbound foreign visitors, according to figures from the city's municipal bureau of culture and tourism. This has outnumbered that for the same month in 2019, which stood at 368,281, by 23.5 percent.

Beijing unveiled a comprehensive action plan to upgrade its inbound tourism services on Tuesday at the Beijing Inbound Tourism Development Conference, as the city reported a 57.1 percent year-on-year surge in overseas visitors to 1.46 million from January to April. The plan outlines 22 measures across four areas -- products, promotion, services and support -- aiming to enhance the city's appeal. Key product initiatives include boosting the "Beijing Central Axis" brand and diversifying offerings such as world heritage tours, hutong explorations and cycling experiences along the axis.

China firmly opposes the EU's protectionist move to limit Chinese medical device firms from participating in major EU public procurement tenders, the Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday. The statement came in response to the EU member states' decision to block Chinese companies from participating in public procurement tenders in the medical device sector for contracts valued over 5 million euros (about 5.72 million U.S. dollars) under the bloc's International Procurement Instrument. The plan, reportedly approved on Monday, would prohibit Chinese firms from bidding on such contracts for a five-year period.

Chinese car manufacturers accounted for the largest share of Israel's imported passenger car sales in the first five months, selling 39,582 gasoline and electric vehicles, according to figures issued by the Israel Vehicle Importers Association on Tuesday. BYD Auto led electric vehicle (EV) sales in Israel, selling 3,813 units between January and May, driven by its subcompact crossover Atto 3 and the mid-size Seal U SUV. Chinese automaker Xpeng Motor secured the second place with 3,650 EVs sold across three models. MG Motor, a Chinese-owned British brand, ranked third with 1,694 EVs sold, followed by China's Chery, 1,675.

China will raise its retail prices of gasoline and diesel from Wednesday, based on recent changes in international oil prices, the country's top economic planner said on Tuesday. Gasoline and diesel prices will increase by 65 yuan (about 9.04 U.S. dollars) and 60 yuan per tonne, respectively, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced in a statement. China's three biggest oil companies -- the China National Petroleum Corporation, the China Petrochemical Corporation, and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation -- and oil refineries have been directed to maintain oil production and facilitate transportation to ensure stable supplies.

Cambodia has reported a remarkable rise in the number of Chinese tourists to its famed Angkor Archaeological Park in the first five months of 2025, said an official report on Tuesday. A total of 43,193 Chinese visitors visited Angkor during the January-May period, up 30 percent from 33,292 over the same period last year, said the state-owned Angkor Enterprise's report. China was the fourth largest source of international tourist arrivals to Angkor after the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, it added. According to the report, a total of 527,577 foreigners from 171 countries and regions toured the ancient park in the first five months of this year, generating a gross revenue of 24.5 million U.S. dollars from ticket sales.

A Norwegian official has praised the green technologies and innovative solutions showcased by Chinese companies at Nor-Shipping 2025, expressing hope for enhanced maritime cooperation between Norway and China. Speaking to Xinhua after visiting the China Pavilion, Even Tronstad Sagebakken, state secretary at Norway's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, said he was impressed by the technological progress demonstrated by Chinese shipbuilders. It is impressive to see not only the innovation but also the practical implementation of green solutions by Chinese shipbuilders, Sagebakken said. "They are at the forefront of technology development... the advancements we need to drive the green transition in the maritime sector."