The News in Pictures

Speaking at the opening ceremonies of the China International Import Expo in Shanghai, President Xi Jinping said new measures will be taken in the near future to open the economy further. The measures,to be launched at the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone, include a science and technology innovation board on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and a trial program experiment with a registration-based system for listing companies on the new trading platform.A plan for the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta Region will also be upgraded to a national strategy, he said.The exposition, held from November 5 to 10, was the first of its kind in China.

China's President Xi Jinping paid state visits to Spain, Argentina, Panama and Portugal, and attended the 13th Summit of the Group of 20 in Buenos Aires from November 27 to December 5. At the G20 summit President Xi emphasized the importance of maintaining a commitment to an open economy, a spirit of cooperation with its partners, shared development and innovation.The visits also advanced the "Belt and Road" initiative - a key trade and infrastructure development program - and enhanced China's ties with Europe and Latin America.

Tolls of 3.59 million yuan were collected on the first day of the implementation of the renminbi cross-border electronic toll payment and settlement system for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge system. Tolls were handled by Autotoll,an intelligent transport and logistics management solutions provider based in Hong Kong, and processed through HSBC's Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp unit.

US$100.56 billion

Overseas institutions had received total investment quotas amounting to US$100.56 billion under China's Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) program as of the end of November, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. Quotas under the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) program and in the Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (RQFII) program reached US$103.23 billion and 642.67 billion yuan, respectively.

27.88 trillion yuan

China's total foreign trade in goods reached 27.88 trillion yuan in the first 11 months of 2018, up 11.1% year on year, according to the General Administration of Customs.The total exceeded the foreign trade tally for all of the previous year. Exports over the January-November period rose 8.2% year on year to 14.92 trillion yuan, while imports climbed 14.6% to 12.96 trillion yuan. The trade surplus of 1.96 trillion yuan for the period was down 21.1% from a year earlier.

3.71 trln yuan

China recorded settlements of 3.71 trillion yuan from cross-border trade and 1.99 trillion yuan from direct investments in the first three quarters this year,official data show. Renminbi settlements for cross-border trade in goods reached 2.64 trillion yuan while those for crossborder trade in services were 1.07 trillion yuan, outbound foreign direct investment 623.12 billion yuan, and inbound foreign investment 1.37 trillion yuan.

10.31 trln yuan

The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect program, which links the stock exchanges of the two cities,recorded total turnover of 10.31 trillion yuan in the four years since its launch in mid-November 2014.Turnover under the program reached 2.35 trillion yuan between January and mid-November 2018, with average daily turnover of 11.6 billion yuan.

54,703

The number of newly established foreigninvested enterprises reached 54,703 in the January-November period, up 77.5% from a year ago, according to official statistics. The actual use of foreign investment reached 793.3 billion yuan, down 1.3% (though in US dollar terms, the figure was up 1.1% at US$121.26 billion).

The Chinese government has unveiled a series of measures to support pilot free trade zones in an effort to deepen reform. The measures, which aim to facilitate trade and include financial support to the zones, were listed in a circular released on November 23, the fifth anniversary of China's first pilot free trade zone. The zones are expected to continue to create significant opportunities for investors and contribute experience to be replicated and rolled out across the country.

The China Banking Regulatory Commission began soliciting opinions on its Decision to Amend the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Foreign-Funded Banks (Consultation Paper) on November 28. Amendments include the provision that a foreign bank branch needs to hold qualified assets of not less than 5% of its public liabilities. Bank branches can stop adding to their holdings of qualified assets once the balance reaches 30% of operating capital. Qualified assets refer to treasury debt issued by the Ministry of Finance, bills issued by the People's Bank of China, financial bonds issued by China's policy banks, interbank deposits at designated institutions with a fixed term of at least one month, and other assets approved by the bank regulator. Comments on the revised regulation may be submitted until December 25, 2018.