Chinese industrial enterprises expand with increasing construction projects

Chinese industrial enterprises are actively expanding production as new engineering projects surged in September, reaching a record high this year.

Data released by the State Taxation Administration on Sunday showed that sales revenues of industrial manufacturers grew by 3.6 percent year on year in the first three quarters, indicating a steady growth in industrial production during this period.

In September, 50.76 percent of construction machinery nationwide was in operation, up 0.75 percent from August, suggesting an acceleration in construction activity across the country. Among them, lifting and digging equipment were the most frequently used.

"There are many large new or expansion projects now underway in the country, and the speed of construction is increasing," said Shen Chunfeng, an expert in engineering machinery index data at ROOTCloud, an industrial internet platform solution provider.

The northeast region is currently leading the country in engineering construction activities. In Harbin, the capital city of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, construction is in full swing at new project sites.

"Nearly 300 workers are working simultaneously at the construction site even overtime to speed up the external wall insulation project for the research buildings No. 1 and No. 2," said Meng Xiangxin, technical director of a municipal engineering company in Harbin.

By the end of September, nearly 96.5 percent of the 1,500 key projects in Heilongjiang had begun construction, 4.5 percentage points higher than the same time last year, covering infrastructure projects in areas like water conservation, road upgrades, and underground piping systems.

Meanwhile, the number of projects awarded through successful bidding is rapidly increasing, with business expansion projects up 5.8 percent year on year in the third quarter. In September, the growth rate of awarded contracts reached 28.4 percent, which is the highest this year, indicating a significant pickup in enterprise expansion activity.

"This shows that industrial enterprises are optimistic about future market demand. Their business confidence and expectations are boosted, which drives a steady increase in investment and expansion activities. As a range of new policies continues to take effect, companies' expectations for future market demand are expected to improve, further encouraging them to expand and enhance their operational vitality," said Yang Daoling, an official of the Department of Big Data Development, State Information Center.

Chinese industrial enterprises expand with increasing construction projects

Hundreds of Japanese residents gathered in front of the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo on Thursday evening, demanding that Sanae Takaichi retract her recent erroneous remarks regarding China's Taiwan region.

At a Diet meeting on Nov. 7, Takaichi claimed that the Chinese mainland's "use of force on Taiwan" could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan and implied the possibility of armed intervention in the Taiwan Strait, which has immediately drawn strong criticism at home and abroad.

Holding placards and banners that read "Against war" and "Takaichi resign", the protesters chanted "We don't want a prime minister who incites war! Takaichi, withdraw your remarks immediately! The Takaichi administration must step down now!"

"Stop military expansion! Stop missile deployment immediately!" the protesters also shouted.

"What exactly is Takaichi thinking? Isn't she pushing Japan into war? I believe she must retract her statements immediately. From a diplomatic perspective, as a member of Japan's Diet, she utterly lacks basic common sense. As a Japanese citizen, I truly find her behavior shameful," said a protester.

Takaichi's provocative remarks regrading Taiwan has constituted a serious challenge to Japan's pacifist constitution and its legal obligations as a defeated country in World War II, said the protesters.

"Japan inflicted tremendous harm on Asian countries during the Asia-Pacific War [of World War II]. That is precisely why we pledged 'Never again to wage war, never again to possess weapons,' and established the crucial Article 9 of our Constitution. Therefore, we absolutely cannot accept Takaichi's provocative remarks against China," said another protester.

The Constitution of Japan was enacted in 1947 and is known as the pacifist postwar constitution. The cornerstone of the constitution is Article 9, which renounces the nation's right to engage in war or to resort to military force to resolve international conflicts.

For decades, this article has been a fundamental constraint on Japan's military endeavors.

"Japan has the pacifist constitution and must absolutely not head towards war. We must return to this fundamental principle. Takaichi must immediately stop and retract her remarks. She must apologize, resign and take responsibility for the mistake," said a Japanese protester.

Japanese residents rally, urging PM to retract erroneous remarks regarding China's Taiwan