China's machinery industry records stable growth in H1

China's machinery industry posted steady performance in the first half of 2026, with speeding-up transition, according to information released by the China Machinery Industry Federation (CMIF) on Thursday.

The added value of major machinery enterprises rose by 6.4 percent year on year in the first six months, the CMIF said.

Of which, five main categories of national economic industries, namely general equipment, special devices, automobiles, electrical machinery and instrument manufacturing, all saw an over 6-percent year-on-year growth in their added value.

During this period, major machinery companies posted total operating revenue of 16.1 trillion yuan (about 2.39 trillion U.S. dollars), up 6.5 percent year on year, the CMIF said.

Revenue across 14 sub-industries all achieved year-on-year increase, among which the growth rates of the electrical appliances, construction machinery, machine tools, robot and intelligent manufacturing exceeded 10 percent.

In the first six months, China's machinery industry recorded a total value of 692.76 billion U.S. dollars in goods import and export, up 15.9 percent year over year. The export growth to the Belt and Road countries, RCEP member countries, the European Union, and ASEAN all exceeded double digits.

Meanwhile, the green energy transition has driven the output of nuclear power, hydro-power and wind turbine units to rise by 92.0 percent, 51.9 percent and 11.5 percent, respectively, providing equipment support for the construction of a new energy system.

Charming footage has captured a newborn giant panda slowly stretching its tiny limbs at a nursery house in Chengdu City, China's panda capital in the southwestern province of Sichuan.

In the clip, filmed at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding on October 9, 2025, and released on July 31, 2026, the cub can be seen sitting leisurely on a patch of grass, gradually extending its arms and legs as if waking up its small body with each delicate, clumsy movement.

The Chengdu base is a world-renowned facility for ex-situ conservation, scientific research and breeding, public education and eco-tourism. It is globally recognized for protecting and breeding endangered Chinese wildlife species such as giant pandas and red pandas.