【CONTENTS】
I. China further optimizes cash-pooling service for multinational companies
II. China's non-financial ODI up 11.2 pct in first 11 months
III. Sri Lanka, China to jointly advance high-quality development of Belt and Road
IV. China releases report on global engineering frontiers
V. Interview: OECD expert says China remains largest contributor to global growth
I. China further optimizes cash-pooling service for multinational companies
BEIJING, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- A pilot cash-pooling service integrating domestic and foreign currency management for multinational companies in China will be further optimized, the country's monetary authorities said Wednesday.
The move aims to enhance the facilitation of cross-border investment and financing for such companies, according to the People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.
The move will focus on reducing corporate financing costs, enhancing cross-border payment and receipt facilitation, streamlining cross-border fund management, and further improving capital utilization efficiency for multinational companies.
The latest move will involve 10 pilot regions including Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, according to the authorities.
The pilot cash-pooling service was first launched in Beijing and the southern economic powerhouse Shenzhen in 2021. It was expanded to include Shanghai, Guangdong, Shaanxi and other regions in 2022.
(2024-12-19 Source: Xinhua News Agency)
II. China's non-financial ODI up 11.2 pct in first 11 months
BEIJING, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- China's non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) increased 11.2 percent year on year to 128.63 billion U.S. dollars in the first 11 months of the year, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed on Thursday.
Chinese companies' non-financial ODI in Belt and Road partner countries expanded 5.1 percent from the previous year to total 30.17 billion U.S. dollars for January to November.
During the period, the turnover of overseas projects contracted by Chinese companies amounted to 140.23 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 3.4 percent, and the value of new contracts climbed 11.9 percent to 198.79 billion U.S. dollars.
The turnover of contracted overseas projects undertaken by Chinese companies in Belt and Road partner countries was 116.14 billion U.S. dollars during the period, up 2.5 percent year on year, while the value of new contracts signed by Chinese companies in these countries totaled 167.95 billion U.S. dollars, up 11.8 percent, according to the data.
(2024-12-20 Source: Xinhua News Agency)
III. Sri Lanka, China to jointly advance high-quality development of Belt and Road
COLOMBO, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- China and Sri Lanka expressed willingness to jointly advance high-quality development of Belt and Road during meetings held here between Sri Lankan leaders and a senior Chinese political advisor.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya met with Qin Boyong, vice chairperson of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, executive vice chairperson of the Central Committee of the China National Democratic Construction Association, on Wednesday and Tuesday, respectively.
Qin said China was willing to deepen the high-quality development of Belt and Road with Sri Lanka, and practical cooperation under the strategic guidance of the heads of state of the two countries, to push forward their strategic cooperative partnership featuring sincere mutual assistance and a lasting friendship.
The Sri Lankan leaders thanked China for its assistance to the economic and social development of the country, saying that the new government will firmly adhere to the one-China principle and is willing to maintain high-level exchanges with China, jointly build the Belt and Road with high quality and deepen cooperation in various fields.
Qin, whose delegation visited Sri Lanka from Monday to Thursday, also met with Sri Lanka's parliament speaker Jagath Wickramaratne.
(2024-12-19 Source: Xinhua News Agency)
IV. China releases report on global engineering frontiers
BEIJING, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) on Wednesday released a report on the global frontiers of engineering science and technology, which includes analyses of development trends and characteristics.
The annual report, Engineering Fronts in 2024, identified 92 frontiers of engineering research and 92 frontiers of engineering development and provided in-depth interpretations of the 27 most important research and 27 development frontiers.
The global engineering frontiers in 2024 show development trends towards extremely microscopic, extreme conditions, extreme precision, and interdisciplinary integration, according to the report.
Continuous advancement in extremely microscopic technological frontiers such as chips, biomedicine, and quantum physics is triggering disruptive innovations in global science, technology and industry, the report said.
Technological advancements in manufacturing, energy and materials are accelerating, with material properties such as disaster resistance, extreme temperature endurance and corrosion resistance providing more reliable guarantees for the development of manufacturing and operations in extreme environments.
The development of global satellite navigation precise positioning technology and robotic precision control technology has opened up new possibilities for human production and daily life.
Interdisciplinary integration has also been continuously promoted, paving the way for new paths in the deep integration of global technological and industrial innovation, according to CAE academician Yang Baofeng.
(2024-12-18 Source: Xinhua News Agency)
V. Interview: OECD expert says China remains largest contributor to global growth
China's further opening-up to foreign trade and capital, in particular, will help improve the business environment and tap growth potential, with a view to long-term sustainable growth, said a senior OECD expert.
PARIS, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- China will remain the largest contributor to global growth in the medium term, a senior expert of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has said.
China's recently announced macroeconomic policies will have an impact and help invigorate growth potential by continuously boosting consumption and investment, Margit Molnar, head of the China Desk of the OECD Economics Department, told Xinhua in a recent interview.
She believed that a series of key measures taken by China in the past few months will help spur local infrastructure investment, and the continuing replacement of old consumer goods with new ones will continue to promote consumption.
Since the beginning of this year, China has carried out measures to expand a high-level opening-up and strengthen comprehensive reforms. In this regard, Molnar said that China's further opening-up to foreign trade and capital, in particular, will help improve the business environment and tap growth potential, with a view to long-term sustainable growth.
She also mentioned that the removal of restrictions on foreign investment in manufacturing is a welcome move, as foreign manufacturers will be able to enter the Chinese market more smoothly, thereby enhancing competition and leading to greater efficiency for industries.
Innovation alone cannot guarantee long-term growth, the expert said, therefore it must be commercialized, and that entails stronger collaboration between industries and the research sector.
A modern industrial system and robust innovation activities are equally crucial for long-term growth, she said.
(2024-12-19 Source: Xinhua News Agency)
