Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.
Coming up on today’s program
China achieves “unprecedented” economic growth in 2021-25, the NDRC said;
China's consumer prices slightly rebound in June.
Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours
China's economy has demonstrated remarkable resilience during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), with its economic increment projected to exceed CNY35 trillion, an amount surpassing that of the third largest economy in the world, according to China’s economic planer on Wednesday.
Over the first four years of the period, the economy expanded at an average annual growth rate of 5.5 percent, with 2025’s GDP expected to reach around CNY140 trillion, Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a press conference today.
“China's growth is an unprecedented achievement given its vast economic scale,” he said.
During the period, China became the most stable, most reliable and most positive force in global development, despite the shocks of the pandemic and trade bullying, Zheng said.
Highlighting the great economic dynamism, Zheng said the country's total R&D expenditure surged nearly 50 percent, or CNY1.2 trillion yuan, from 2020 to 2024, and the number of registered private enterprises surpassed 58 million at the end of May 2025, over 40 percent higher than 2020.
China has been leading the global manufacturing industry for 15 years, with the output of about 220 kinds of major industrial products ranking first globally. The value-added manufacturing industrial output has surged by over CNY30 trillion annually since 2021, he added.
The country has established the world's largest and fastest-developing renewable energy system, with an installed generation capacity of two billion kW as of May 31, up 124 percent from December 2020, while energy consumption per unit of GDP decreased by 11.6 percent in the first four years of the period, said Zhou Haibing, deputy head of the NDRC.
More than 12 million new urban jobs has been added each year since 2021, indicating relatively sufficient employment in a developing country with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, Zhou said.
China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, was up 0.1 percent year on year in June, reversing a 0.1 percent decline registered in the previous month, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Wednesday. In the first half of 2025, the country's CPI posted a 0.1-percent decline compared with the same period last year. The producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, went down 3.6 percent year on year in June.
GBA express
The shares traded on the Chinese yuan counter of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will soon be included in the Stock Connect scheme linking the SAR with the Chinese mainland, according to the chief executive of the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong. The SFC has been actively working with Chinese mainland regulators to promote the inclusion of the Chinese yuan counter in the Stock Connect, Leung Fung Yee said at the Bond Connect Anniversary Summit yesterday. Technical preparations are progressing smoothly, and related rules will be disclosed to investors soon, she added.
China's Ministry of Finance will issue sovereign bonds totaling CNY6 billion in Macao on July 16, the SAR government said Wednesday.
Lens Technology, a Chinese mainland manufacturer of touch-screen covers for Apple’s iPhone, rose in its Hong Kong trading debut after a HK$4.8 billion stock offering in the city. The shares jumped 9.1 percent on Wednesday, with a market cap of HK$5 billion.
The 15th National Games, to be jointly organized by Guangdong province and the Hong Kong and Macao SARs, will accelerate the integrated development of the Greater Bay Area, according to a news conference held in Guangzhou on Tuesday. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Road Cycling Race, as a part of the 15th National Games, will take place in the three regions. A green channel is also opened for ticket holders, with nationwide application for entry and exit documents. During the National Games, visitors can enjoy entry and exit without the need to show documents.
Industry and company news
Retail sales of passenger cars in China rose 18.1 percent to over 2.08 million units last month from a year ago, with that of new energy passenger cars jumping 30 percent to 1.11 million, data from the China Passenger Car Association showed yesterday. Such sales climbed 11 percent to 10.9 million in the first half from a year earlier.
BYD became the world’s first to achieve smart parking comparable to L-4 autonomy, the Chinese auto giant said on Weibo today. The firm pledged to fully cover the safety and losses for all users driving under its God's Eye smart driving system while parking in the country, without needing to go through the insurance process.
Chayan Yuese will start its overseas retail business expansion via e-commerce, the Chinese new-style tea brand said today. Its first stop will be North America, with its Shopify store and brand-operated shops on Amazon, TikTok, and others to open at midnight Pacific Time today.
Asia-Pacific highlights
Online discount-goods platform Shein privately filed for an initial public offering in Hong Kong, media reported. Founded in China but now Singapore-based, Shein previously filed an application to list on the London Stock Exchange last year but has yet to win regulatory approval.
China and Brazil signed a memorandum of understanding to study a transcontinental railroad connecting Peru's Pacific coast with Brazil's Atlantic coast, as part of a strategic export route, Brazil's Ministry of Transport said on Tuesday.
Chinese leading biodiesel supplier Zhuoyue New Energy plans to invest CNY700 million to build a biofuel production base in Thailand. Located in Chonburi province, the project will be built in two phases, with combined annual production capacity of 400,000 tons, the firm announced yesterday. Zhuoyue is also building a biodiesel production facility in Singapore, with an annual capacity of 100,000 tons, scheduled to come on stream this year.
