Co-Chair of the China Development Forum (CDF) 2025 and Siemens AG president and CEO Roland Busch speaks during the opening ceremony of the CDF 2025 in Beijing, capital of China, March 23, 2025. The China Development Forum 2025 is scheduled from March 23 to 24. The theme of this year's forum is "Unleashing Development Momentum for Stable Growth of Global Economy."

A major manufacturing city in east China's Zhejiang Province has kicked off its 2025 global trade promotion initiative in a bid to boost exports, amid rising trade protectionism and weakening demand in key global markets. As the first step of this endeavor, a delegation of 55 companies from the city of Jinhua, home to some 2 million market entities, participated in the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas in the United States from March 18 to 20. With the help of new trade models, including cross-border e-commerce, Jinhua reported strong trade growth in 2024, with total exports rising 16.4 percent year on year to 771.9 billion yuan. The number of local companies engaged in international trade surpassed 17,000 in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 10.3 percent.

It is quite critical for foreign companies to continue to invest in technological research and development in China, and there will be a lot of scientific discoveries and disruptions coming into innovation, said Denis Depoux, global managing director of Roland Berger. China has set its GDP growth target at around 5 percent for 2025. Depoux said, "The 5 percent objective is quite ambitious, like it was last year. It was fulfilled last year. So that gives some confidence because the Chinese economy is resilient. But it needs new drivers, new engines." These new growth engines come from China's continued efforts in bolstering technological innovation. He said people now realize that there's so much innovation in China, and it's quite critical for multinational corporations to invest in research and development, and technology here.

Automotive giant Volkswagen Group China has praised the Chinese government's efforts to facilitate cross-border data flows and improve the business environment for European Union (EU) enterprises in China. "We are pleased to see the Chinese government's recent efforts to promote efficient and secure data flows that are indispensable for the operation of multinational companies and the proper functioning of the global economy," a company spokesperson said in a written interview with Xinhua. The spokesperson highlighted the introduction of a comprehensive policy framework, the government's swift response to industry advocacy, and efforts to enhance communication between countries and regions.

China still has considerable room for counter-cyclical adjustment in macro policies and is confident in delivering high-quality development that will contribute stability and certainty to global prosperity, a senior official said in Beijing Sunday. Since the beginning of this year, China's economy has continued its steady recovery and growth momentum, laying a solid foundation for a good start, Han Wenxiu, executive deputy director of the Office of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs, said at the China Development Forum 2025. Amid rising external instability and uncertainty, China will remain firmly focused on pursuing its own development, leveraging the certainty of high-quality growth to offset external uncertainties and striving to serve as a stabilizing anchor for the global economy, Han added.

China unveiled a comprehensive policy package recently to boost consumer spending, reinforcing its commitment to making consumption a key driver of economic growth. The 30-point plan aims to strengthen consumer confidence by a whole set of measures including promoting income growth and reducing financial burden. Analysts described the pro-consumption push as an innovative move that underscores the government's commitment to a people-oriented approach and its focus on investing in human capital. As the world's second-largest economy navigates domestic and external headwinds, policymakers are counting on the spending power of its 1.4 billion consumers to drive economic growth.

Hong Kong maintained third place globally and continued to hold the top position in the Asia-Pacific region in a financial centers index published Thursday by British and Chinese think tanks. The Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI) 37 Report, released by British think tank Z/Yen Group and the China Development Institute in Shenzhen, assessed a total of 119 financial centers around the world. According to the report, Hong Kong's overall rating increased by 11 points to 760, slightly closing the gap in rating with first place. A spokesperson for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said that the report fully recognized Hong Kong's leading status and strengths as an international financial center. Hong Kong's rankings in the areas of "human capital," "infrastructure," and "financial sector development" rose to second in the world, while rankings in "business environment" and "reputational and general" rose to third globally.

China's cumulative installed power generation capacity reached 3.4 billion kilowatts by the end of February, marking a year-on-year increase of 14.5 percent, official data showed on Thursday. Solar power generation capacity amounted to 930 million kilowatts by the end of last month, surging 42.9 percent compared to the same period last year. Wind power generation capacity stood at 530 million kilowatts, rising 17.6 percent year on year, according to the National Energy Administration. In the first two months of 2025, China's major power generation companies invested 75.3 billion yuan (about 10.5 billion U.S. dollars) in power generation projects, marking a year-on-year growth of 0.2 percent. During the same period, investments in power grid projects reached 43.6 billion yuan, up 33.5 percent year on year.

China's one-year loan prime rate (LPR), a market-based benchmark lending rate, came in at 3.1 percent Thursday, unchanged from the previous month. The over-five-year LPR, on which many lenders base their mortgage rates, also remained unchanged from the previous reading of 3.6 percent, according to the National Interbank Funding Center. The LPRs reflect the level of financing costs for households and businesses, with lower rates meaning less burdens on borrowers and stronger support for economic activity. In 2024, the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, guided the LPR downward while implementing two reductions in both the reserve requirement ratios (RRRs) and policy interest rates to help sustain economic recovery.

China is set to debut an RMB-denominated sovereign green bond in London, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday. The value will not exceed 6 billion yuan (833 million U.S. dollars) and specifics will be announced prior to the issuance, the ministry said. In February, the ministry released a framework for sovereign green bonds, paving the foundation for the country to issue offshore sovereign green bonds and global capital to invest in its green development. The funds raised by green bonds under the framework will be allocated to eligible green projects included in the central fiscal budget. The funds are expected to contribute to achieving environmental goals such as climate change mitigation and adaptation, natural resource protection, pollution control, and biodiversity preservation.

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday left target range for the federal funds rate unchanged at 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent, amid rising inflation concerns due to the Trump administration's tariff policies. Beginning in April, the FOMC will slow the pace of decline of its securities holdings, indicating that the Fed is choosing not to reduce its balance sheet as quickly -- a measure taken during times when the economy might need more support or liquidity. According to the Fed's latest quarterly summary of economic projections released Wednesday, the median projection for personal consumption expenditures (PCE) inflation among Fed officials is 2.7 percent by year-end, up from 2.5 percent in the December projection. Median projection for core PCE inflation among Fed officials is 2.8 percent by year-end, up from 2.5 percent in the December projection.

China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said the country's trade policies toward trading partners, including the European Union, have consistently been stable, and welcomed European companies to increase their investment in China. While the global economy faces severe challenges, the long-term positive trend of China's economy remains unchanged as the economy enjoys strong resilience, huge potential, and vitality, Wang said, adding that China is confident in its ability to continue to achieve stable economic growth. He said that despite changes in the external environment, China's policies and expectations remain stable. China will continue to advance high-level opening up, optimize the business environment, and vigorously encourage foreign investment, the minister said.

Gold prices extended their rally on Tuesday after setting a new record high last Friday, as investors rushed to store the precious metal amid rising global economic uncertainties and trade tensions mainly fueled by the high tariffs of the US. Investors are increasingly turning to gold as a safe-haven asset, an analyst said. On Tuesday, international gold prices soared. Spot gold pierced the $3,025-per-ounce mark as of 4:30 pm (Beijing time), while COMEX gold futures prices surpassed a high of $3,035 per ounce, reinforcing gold's strong upward momentum. Main gold futures contracts on the Shanghai Futures Exchange broke through the 700 yuan ($96.78) per gram benchmark on Tuesday, reaching a new high.

A new plan to expand consumer spending unveiled on Sunday is expected to encourage consumption and drive economic growth in China. The country has maintained its position as the world's second-largest consumer market and largest e-commerce market for over a decade. Data released on Monday shows that retail sales of consumer goods -- a major indicator of the country's consumption strength -- climbed 4 percent year on year in the first two months of 2025, 0.5 percentage points higher than the same period in 2024. Despite the positive data, consumer confidence remains weak due to multiple factors, and it remains imperative that consumption is boosted and domestic demand is expanded, Li Chunlin, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said at a press conference on Monday.

China's fixed-asset investment went up 4.1 percent year on year in the first two months of this year, 0.9 percentage points higher than the full-year growth rate of 2024, official data showed Monday. The investment totaled 5.2619 trillion yuan (about 734 billion U.S. dollars) during the January-February period, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement. Investment in infrastructure construction rose 5.6 percent from a year ago during the period, and manufacturing investment increased 9 percent, according to the NBS. Excluding the property sector, the country's fixed-asset investment rose 8.4 percent in the first two months. Investment in property development fell 9.8 percent year on year during the period.