China's non-manufacturing sector continues to expand in May

China's non-manufacturing sector continued to register expansion in business activities, according to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Saturday.

The data showed that the purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 50.3 in May, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous month, but still maintained the expansion momentum for the fifth consecutive month.

The PMI is an index that shows the overall trends of the manufacturing sector and the non-manufacturing sector. A reading above 50 percent means expansion in business activities, while below 50 percent means contraction.

Specifically, the sub-index for the business activities in the service industry in May was 50.2 percent, 0.1 percentage points from the previous month.

Driven by the Labor Day holiday, tourism and dining consumption was quite active in May, while the business activity indices of industries, such as railway transport, air transport, accommodation and catering significantly rebounded within the expansion range, with a remarkable increase in market activity.

"The business activity indices of industries such as postal services, telecommunications, broadcasting, television, and satellite transmission services, and Internet software and information technology services remain in a prosperous range above 55 percent, and the total business volume maintains a fast growth," said Huo Lihui, director of the enterprise prosperity division of the NBS Service Industry Survey Center.

The construction industry continued to expand in May, with the business activity index of the civil engineering construction industry reaching 62.3 percent, up 1.4 percentage points from the previous month, marking a rebound for two consecutive months and indicating that the construction of engineering projects in various regions continues to accelerate.

"In terms of civil engineering construction, the construction of some major projects in the infrastructure sector, or the whole sector, is further accelerating. It plays a more and more evident role in driving future economic growth," said Cai Jin, president of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.

China's non-manufacturing sector continues to expand in May

China's non-manufacturing sector continues to expand in May

China's non-manufacturing sector continues to expand in May

China's non-manufacturing sector continues to expand in May

The United States cannot legitimize an operation that attacked Venezuela and captured its president, a Chinese scholar said Sunday.

On Saturday, the United States launched a large-scale strike on Venezuela, during which Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were 'captured and flown out of Venezuela' according to a post by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account.

Teng Jianqun, director of the Center for Diplomatic Studies at Hunan Normal University, said in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) that the aim of this operation is to take full control of Venezuela’s natural resources.

"I don't think the United States can legitimize this operation to take custody of the president of Venezuela. And also I don't think the United States can legitimize its any action in taking the oil reserves of that country. This is actually a very dangerous game played by the Trump administration. And of course, the United States would like to take full control of that country and to take full control of the natural resources, especially the large reserve of oil in Venezuela," said Teng.

Teng said Venezuela is not an isolated case but a common practice by the United States. The United States launched an invasion of Panama on Dec. 20, 1989, which continued until January 1990, with the stated objective of capturing Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega on charges of drug trafficking and organized crime.

"We still remember the so-called sentence of the former president of Panama in the late 1980s. And this time, the president of Venezuela will be under some judicial condition (judicial proceedings) for the so-called drug trafficking and some other crimes. So I think this is not a single case for the Venezuela country, but also this is actually a practice by the United States -- to use force, to use so-called justice under law against any leaders in Latin America and the Caribbean waters," he said.

US cannot legitimize operation against Venezuela: Chinese scholar