1. The results of the fifth national economic census have been released. At the end of 2023, there were 33.27 million legal entities engaged in activities in the secondary and tertiary industries nationwide, an increase of 11.481 million or 52.7% compared to the end of 2018; The number of industrial activity units reached 36.36 million, an increase of 11.81 million, or 48.1%; There were 87.995 million individual businesses, an increase of 25.036 million or 39.8%.
2. The Supreme People's Court has issued the "Sixth Five Year Reform Outline of the People's Courts (2024-2028)". It implements the same responsibility, same crime, and same punishment in accordance with the law for acts that infringe upon various forms of ownership, economic property rights, and legitimate interests; It punishes illegal and criminal activities in the capital market in accordance with the law, and strengthen the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of small and medium-sized investors; it improves the adjudication rules for new types of cases involving online infringement, artificial intelligence, algorithms, and unfair competition in data.
3. According to data from the National Railway Administration, as of December 26th, the total operating mileage of railways in China is about 162000 kilometers, including about 47000 kilometers of high-speed railways and over 25000 kilometers of local railways. It is expected that the total number of railway passengers in China for the whole year will be about 4.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of about 11.7%; The railway freight volume is about 5.18 billion tons, a year-on-year increase of about 3%.
4. The National Grain Reserves Administration predicts that the grain procurement volume will reach around 840 billion kilograms this year, and remain stable at over 800 billion kilograms for two consecutive years. This year, the total grain output in China reached 141.3 billion catties, breaking through 1.4 trillion catties for the first time on the basis of maintaining over 1.3 trillion catties for nine consecutive years and reaching a new level.
5. Tianjin City has issued a notice stating that borrowers of housing provident fund loans who are in the range of households with minimum living allowances, families on the edge of minimum living allowances, or extremely poor dependents in the city, and have repayment records in the previous calendar year, can apply for loan interest subsidies from the Municipal Housing Provident Fund Management Center. The subsidy amount is 50% of the interest on the housing provident fund loan that the borrower has repaid in the previous year.
6. The Guangdong Housing Association has released an initiative to continue promoting consumption through commercial housing at the end of the year and the beginning of the year. From December 26 to February 28, 2025, seizing the time window of New Year's Day and Spring Festival, the association will organize and carry out activities such as the "New Year's Home Purchase and Settlement Activity" to promote consumption through commercial housing.
7. The Medical Insurance Bureau stated that as of December 9th, all provinces have expanded the scope of employee medical insurance mutual assistance to close relatives. From January to November, the personal accounts of employees covered by medical insurance reached 325 million, an increase of 42 million from January to October; The amount of mutual aid reached 44.453 billion yuan, an increase of 7.545 billion yuan from January to October.
8. Counterpoint Research predicts that the shipment of foldable screen smartphones in China will reach 9.1 million units in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 2%, with a slight slowdown in growth rate. In order to attract more consumers and promote wider adoption, innovative and more attractive usage scenarios will become crucial.
9. According to Science and Technology Daily, scientists at the University of California, San Francisco have developed an innovative "molecular GPS" technology that can guide immune cells to specifically locate the brain and effectively kill tumors without damaging surrounding healthy tissues. This groundbreaking study was recently published in the journal Science.
10. On December 26th, the South Korean Prime Minister's Office announced measures to revitalize the South Korean tourism industry. In order to improve the convenience of visiting South Korea, it is considering implementing a visa free policy for a certain range of Chinese group tourists.
