China's PPI down 2.8 pct in September

China's producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, went down 2.8 percent year on year in September, the National Bureau of Statistics said Sunday.

On a monthly basis, the PPI edged down 0.6 percent in September.

The purchasing prices for industrial producers decreased by 2.2 percent on a yearly basis and 0.8 percent on a monthly basis during the same period.

In the period from January to September, China's producer prices for industrial products decreased by 2.0 percent over the same period of last year, and the purchasing prices for industrial producers decreased by 2.1 percent.

In terms of the year-on-year changes of prices for different categories, among the producer prices for industrial products, the prices for means of production decreased by 3.3 percent.

Among them, the prices for the mining industry went down by 2.5 percent, the prices for the raw material industry decreased by 3.2 percent, and the prices for the processing industry dropped by 3.3 percent.

The prices for means of livelihood lowered by 1.3 percent on a yearly basis. Among them, the prices for food went down by 1.6 percent, for clothing and general commodities decreased by 0.3 percent, and the prices for durable consumer goods dropped by 2.1 percent.

Of the purchasing prices for industrial producers, prices for ferrous metal materials dropped by 6.8 percent year on year, prices for building materials and non-metallic went down by 4.2 percent, and prices for fuel and power declined by 4.1 percent.

The prices for agricultural and sideline products declined by 3.8 percent, prices for raw chemical materials declined by 3.3 percent, and prices for non-ferrous metal materials and wires went up by 7.4 percent.

China's PPI down 2.8 pct in September

China's PPI down 2.8 pct in September

China's PPI down 2.8 pct in September

China's PPI down 2.8 pct in September

Li Li, a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC) from southwest China's Guizhou Province, has made it her mission to preserve and promote the rich cultural heritage of the Buyi people, particularly their traditional clothing.

Born and raised in a village of Qinglong County, Qianxinan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Li began learning the intricate handicrafts of the Buyi people from her mother at a young age.

After spending over a decade working away from home, she felt a strong calling to return and safeguard her cultural roots. In 2015, she returned to her roots to start a business with the vision to revitalize Buyi clothing.

"Starting my own business was really tough in the beginning. If you want to make a Western-style suit, you could just buy some fabric and copy an existing design. But ethnic clothing is different. It requires constant innovation, and that takes a huge amount of time. Traditional fabrics tend to fade, and I spent months just trying to figure out how to fix the color. This problem had kept me up for a long time. But eventually, I tackled the challenges one by one," Li said.

Her persistence has paid off. This year, Li's team tapped into the cultural symbolism of the Year of the Horse, creating a range of horse-themed products that have quickly gained popularity.

"This year is the Year of the Horse, so we created a lot of horse-themed items. They are very popular and orders have been pouring in. Every year, we design our cultural products and clothing based on what the market wants. We started with a 300-square-meter workshop, and now we have our own intangible cultural heritage center. Over the years, we've trained more than a thousand embroiderers," she said.

As a grassroots NPC deputy, Li prioritizes listening to the voices of ordinary people. During work sessions with embroiderers, she takes time to listen to their concerns and offers flexible schedules for those with special needs.

The preservation of ethnic clothing and culture has always been at the heart of her work.

"During this year's 'two sessions', I will continue to focus on the preservation of ethnic clothing and culture. I want to encourage more young people to get involved in cultural inheritance. For example, I've been going to schools to teach students because I hope that intangible cultural heritage can take root in children's hearts from an early age. I want them to grow up knowing how remarkable our ethnic culture is and to develop a strong sense of cultural pride," Li said.

The "two sessions" refer to the annual meetings of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Conference, China's top political advisory body,which usually convene in early March.

NPC deputy from Guizhou revitalizes Buyi culture through inheritance and innovation