Erinome: Hello dear friends! Welcome to today's news chat. I'm Erinome, and here with me is Enceladus. Let's go through the latest updates together, shall we?
Enceladus: Hi everyone! Let's start with some economy news first. What's the first one?
Erinome: Well, officials say China's economy is expected to grow about 5% in 2025, showing stronger-than-expected strength. And Bank of America predicts the growth rate will be 4.7% in 2026. Oh, and first-tier cities' housing prices are warming up first!
Enceladus: Wow, 5% growth is pretty good, right? And housing prices getting better—maybe that makes people feel more confident about the economy, you know?
Erinome: Yeah! Next, the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Office says expanding domestic demand is the top priority next year. And the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security will improve the income distribution system to push up workers' pay.
Enceladus: Oh, that sounds important for regular people! If people earn more, they can spend more, which helps the economy grow. Nice!
Erinome: Exactly. Then, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development says cities will have more power to adjust real estate policies based on their own situations. So different cities can make their own rules now, um?
Enceladus: That makes sense. Every city has different problems, like some might have too many empty houses, others not enough. So letting them make their own policies is smart.
Erinome: Right! Now, big news from Hainan: They announced that the whole island's customs closure operation for the Free Trade Port will start on December 18th.
Enceladus: Wow, Hainan Free Trade Port is really moving forward! That's a huge step for the area. I remember hearing about the Free Trade Port plans before—this must be exciting for Hainan.
Erinome: Yeah! Now, a warning from WeChat Security Center: Any message that says "help you close password-free payment", asks for money, or tells you to download software is a scam.
Enceladus: Oh no! People need to be careful with that. Scammers are everywhere now. So if someone texts you about "closing password-free payment", just ignore them, right?
Erinome: Exactly! Don't trust those. Next, many traffic police detachments in different places are being renamed Traffic Management Bureaus. Industry insiders say it's an update of their work concepts.
Enceladus: Hmm, interesting. So it's not just a name change—maybe it means they're changing how they work? Like thinking more about managing traffic overall, not just police stuff?
Erinome: Maybe! Now, a sad story from CCTV: They exposed a black industry chain that smuggles pregnant women's blood samples. 100,000 blood samples were smuggled out of the country, making over 30 million yuan illegally, and it involves 23 provinces.
Enceladus: Sad... That's really bad. How could so many people do something illegal like that? It must hurt the families involved.
Erinome: Yeah, really upsetting. Let's move to some better news: The onshore RMB exchange rate against the US dollar has risen to 7.04, which is a new high in over 14 months! Experts say it might get close to 7 again soon.
Enceladus: Wow, the RMB is getting stronger! That should be good for things like importing goods, maybe? Or for people traveling abroad—their money can buy more, haha.
Erinome: Probably! Then, the Ministry of Commerce announced that starting tomorrow, they will impose anti-dumping duties on imported pork and related products from the EU.
Enceladus: Anti-dumping duties? So to make sure imported pork isn't too cheap and hurts local farmers, right? To protect local markets.
Erinome: I think so. Last news for today: NASDAQ is taking the first step to 24-hour trading! They plan to extend weekday trading hours to 23 hours.
Enceladus: 23 hours? That's almost all day! Traders will be so busy, haha. But maybe it's good for investors in different time zones around the world.
Erinome: Yeah, that's a big change. Okay, that's all the news for today. Thanks for listening, everyone! Let's talk again next time.
Enceladus: Bye! Stay safe and keep up with the news!
