Erinome: Hello everyone! Welcome to today's news chat. I'm Erinome, and sitting next to me is Enceladus. Let's take a look at the latest news together, okay?
Enceladus: Sure! Let's start with the first one. What's up with the central bank data?
Erinome: Oh right! The central bank said that in the first three quarters of 2025, China's RMB loans increased by 14.75 trillion yuan. Also, RMB deposits went up by 22.71 trillion yuan, and the total social financing scale was over 30.09 trillion yuan. That's a lot of money moving around!
Enceladus: Wow, that’s a big number. So loans and deposits are both growing, huh?
Erinome: Yep! Next, the National Bureau of Statistics reported September’s consumer prices: down 0.3% year-on-year, but up 0.1% month-on-month. And the Tax Bureau said manufacturing got nearly 1.3 trillion yuan in tax cuts and refunds in the first 8 months.
Enceladus: Oh, prices went down a little yearly but up a bit monthly. And tax cuts for factories—good for businesses, you know that?
Erinome: Totally! Then, six departments plan to build 28 million electric vehicle charging facilities by the end of 2027. That will double the charging service capacity.
Enceladus: Wow, 28 million! More charging stations mean it’s easier to own electric cars, right? That’s cool.
Erinome: Yeah. But here’s some bad news: the official report on the "Cai Guoqiang fireworks show" incident. It said 15.29 mu of grassland was damaged, and several people were removed from their posts.
Enceladus: Oh no, that’s sad. Damaging grassland isn’t good for the environment.
Erinome: Definitely. On a better note, October 15th was a big day for high-speed rail! The cross-sea tunnel of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong High-Speed Rail's Shiziyang Passage was finally贯通 (guantong, completed). It’s expected to open in 2026.
Enceladus: Oh, when it opens, how fast will it be?
Erinome: Travel time between Guangzhou and Shenzhen will go from 1 hour to just 30 minutes! And annual passengers might hit over 200 million.
Enceladus: Wow, 30 minutes! That’s super fast. Commuters must be happy about that, haha.
Erinome: For sure. But then, some terrible news from Shandong. In Liaocheng, a man drove into people, killing 8 and injuring 4. Police said he was drunk driving—his alcohol level was 195.3mg per 100mL. He’s been controlled now.
Enceladus: Oh no, that’s so sad. Drunk driving is so dangerous. My heart goes out to the families.
Erinome: Me too. Let’s switch to some positive news. In Ningbo, Zhejiang, the first cargo ship of the China-Europe Arctic Container Express Route left Ningbo and arrived in the UK via the Arctic route. It’s the world’s first such route!
Enceladus: Arctic route? That’s a new shipping way, right? Interesting. Shorter path maybe?
Erinome: Probably! Now, gold news. International gold price hit a new high—over $4200 per ounce. Domestic gold jewelry is over 1235 yuan per gram. And Gansu found a large gold mine with over 40 tons, equal to two big mines!
Enceladus: Whoa, gold prices are really high. And 40 tons of gold? That’s a lot, um.
Erinome: Yep. Then, about northern Myanmar: details on the Kokang "Four Families" case. The Wei family was involved in gambling fraud over 14 billion yuan, and it caused 8 Chinese citizens’ deaths. The Liu family had over 10.6 billion yuan in gambling fraud too.
Enceladus: Oh no, that’s terrible. Gambling fraud hurts so many people. Hope they get punished.
Erinome: Moving to international news. Foreign media said the US Department of Justice seized nearly 130,000 bitcoins from a Cambodian fraud network. Worth about $15 billion—that’s the biggest seizure ever!
Enceladus: 130,000 bitcoins? That’s a huge amount! I didn’t know they could seize that much, you know?
Erinome: Crazy, right? Then, Japanese media reported that Japanese-Korean entrepreneur Masayoshi Son is back as Japan’s richest man. His wealth went up 268.2 billion yen in half a year. He got famous for investing in Alibaba, remember?
Enceladus: Oh yeah, Masayoshi Son! Alibaba investment made him big. Now he’s rich again, haha.
Erinome: Last two news bits. In Afghanistan, there was an explosion in Kabul—officials said it was an oil tanker explosion. And Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire to try to find solutions.
Enceladus: Sad about the explosion. Hope the ceasefire helps them talk things out, you know?
Erinome: Me too. Okay, that's it for today's news. Thanks for joining, everyone. Let's talk again next time!
Enceladus: Bye!
