Two batches of ultra-long special treasury bonds totaling 150 billion yuan (about 21.3 billion U.S. dollars) to support large-scale equipment upgrades have been fully allocated to projects across China, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on Sunday.
The bonds will further support equipment upgrades and recycling in over 10 fields, including industry, transportation, and logistics. More than 2 million units of equipment are expected to receive upgrades thanks to the funding, injecting new vitality into investments.
Some of the equipment upgrades will also go toward bettering educational facilities in east China's Zhejiang Province.
New desks, chairs, and folding beds have been introduced in primary and secondary schools, allowing students to take a 'lie-down' nap during lunchtime. In the province's universities, a batch of new research equipment has arrived in laboratories, with high-precision devices priced over 500,000 yuan being a key focus of this round of equipment upgrades.
As the heating season approaches, regions like northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province are accelerating insulation and heating system upgrades in old residential areas.
In central China's Hunan Province, the renovation and upgrading of underground pipe networks is expanding, enhancing the city's flood prevention and drainage capabilities. East China's Jiangsu Province has meanwhile accelerated the upgrade of elevators in old residential compounds.
In the industrial sector, manufacturing provinces like east China’s Shandong Province and south China's Guangdong Province are accelerating the green transformation of production lines in key energy-intensive industries such as steel, ceramics, and textiles, updating boilers, motors, and transformers.
150 bln yuan ultra-long special treasury bonds for equipment upgrading fully allocated
China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao outlined the key priorities of the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting, which opened on Friday in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province.
In an interview with CGTN ahead of the two-day meeting, Wang said free trade, digital cooperation and green economy are high on the agenda of the meeting.
"The key areas include advancing regional economic integration and the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, supporting the World Trade Organization (WTO) in strengthening digital cooperation and developing green economy. At present, the international situation is marked by intertwined turbulence and chaos, with intensified geopolitical instability. The rise of unilateralism and protectionism poses serious challenges to the international economic and trade order, disrupting global and Asia-Pacific development. Against this backdrop, all parties have higher expectations for this trade ministers' meeting, hoping that it can build consensus and deliver outcomes," Wang said.
This year marks China's third time hosting the APEC meetings and the 35th anniversary of its membership.
By 2025, China had become the largest trading partner of 13 APEC economies. Trade between China and APEC economies reached 3.7 trillion U.S. dollars, accounting for 57.8 percent of China's total foreign trade.
China has signed 24 free trade agreements or economic and trade arrangements with 31 countries and regions, including 15 APEC economies. In recent years, China has also completed upgrades of free trade agreements with APEC economies such as Singapore and Peru.
The minister said that China has always been a firm supporter and an important contributor to APEC.
"We have actively shared our vast market and development opportunities with all parties. China's door to the world will only open wider and wider. Facing the common challenges, China will continue to fulfill its responsibilities as a major country, further deepen reform, expand high-standard opening-up, and continue to provide new opportunities for the Asia-Pacific region and the world with its new achievements in Chinese modernization," the minister said.
China's Commerce Minister outlines priorities for 32nd APEC trade ministers' meeting
