The Sunday Mail
Manyika Kangai
China’s Golden Week
The National Day holiday — dubbed “Golden Week” by the Chinese — normally runs for seven days, but this year it was linked with the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival and extended to eight days, from September 29 to October 6. The holiday is a peak time for travel and leisure activities. A daily average of 57,3 million passenger trips were made during the holiday, surging 57,1 percent from last year, according to the Ministry of Transport. The country’s domestic tourism market generated approximately 753,4 billion yuan (about US$103,2 billion) in revenue during the holiday, representing a year-on-year increase of 129,5 percent and a rise of 1,5 percent from that of the National Day holiday in 2019, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. China’s box office had over 2,7 billion yuan (about US$376 million) in revenue, with 65,1 million tickets sold and online platform Meituan reported that average daily spend on service retail sales soared 153 percent compared with the same period in 2019.
China publishes white paper on BRI
China’s State Council Information Office released a white paper titled “The Belt and Road Initiative: A Key Pillar of the Global Community of Shared Future” on Tuesday. The white paper, comprising a preamble, five chapters and a conclusion, presents the achievements of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) over the last 10 years. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the inception of the BRI. By June 2023, China had signed more than 200 BRI cooperation agreements with over 150 countries and 30 international organisations across five continents, yielding several signature projects. From 2013 to 2022, the cumulative value of trade between China and BRI partner countries reached US$19,1 trillion, with an average annual growth rate of 6,4 percent. Cumulative two-way investment between China and partner countries reached US$380 billion, including US$240 billion from China. The third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation is scheduled for October 17 to 18 in Beijing.
China futures market turnover
The turnover of China’s futures market posted strong growth in the first three quarters, according to data from the China Futures Association released on Tuesday. The total transaction value of the futures market hit 425,29 trillion yuan (about US$59,3 trillion) during the January-September period, up 6,13 percent year-on-year. The volume of futures trading increased by 30,5 percent during the period. Turnover at the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange grew at the fastest pace, while turnover at the Shanghai Futures Exchange ranked first in terms of transaction value.
China’s new energy passenger cars sales
Sales of new energy passenger cars in China soared in September, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) released on Wednesday. Last month, retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles in China expanded 22,1 percent year-on-year to 746 000 units. In the first nine months of the year, nearly 5,19 million units of these cars were sold via retail channels, surging 33,8 percent from a year ago. Wholesale sales of these cars reached 829 000 units in September, up 23 percent year-on-year. The data also revealed that exports of China’s new energy passenger cars skyrocketed 107 percent from a year ago to 91 000 units, accounting for 25,4 percent of the country’s total passenger car exports.
China unveils record breaking quantum computer prototype
Chinese scientists unveiled a quantum computer prototype named “Jiuzhang 3.0” on Wednesday. Led by the renowned Chinese quantum physicist Pan Jianwei, the research team said their latest quantum computer has solved an ultra-complicated mathematical problem, Gaussian Boson Sampling (GBS), within a millionth of a second – 10 quadrillion times faster than the world’s fastest supercomputer could achieve the same task. The JiuZhang 3.0 prototype also smashed the record set by its predecessor in the series, with a one-million-fold increase in calculation speed. The study was published by the peer-reviewed journal Physical Review Letters on Tuesday.
*Manyika Kangai has over 17 years of experience facilitating and advising on China-Africa trade and investment deals. Feedback: Muvambi SA (Pty) Ltd
+27743487997/ www.muvambi-sa.co.za
