Industrial parks across China maintain steady operation in July: official data

The industrial parks across China maintained steady operation and production in July this year, with the foundation for high-quality development continued to be consolidated, according to official data. According to the latest data from the State Information Center, the production heat index of the industrial parks increased by 1.0 percent year on year in July. In particular, technological innovation enterprises performed well, with the production heat index in the semiconductor, new materials and digital intelligence fields increasing by 11.6, 8.9 and 4.8 percent year on year, respectively.

Based on big data and high-frequency monitoring, the index is introduced to measure the prosperity and recovery trend of production activities of enterprises in the industrial parks across the country.

The number of patent grants related to strategic emerging industries increased by 10.7 percent year on year in July, of which the number of patent grants related to artificial intelligence increased by 60 percent year on year, with the growth rate increasing by 21.7 percentage points compared to that in June.

"Traditional industries are stabilizing their foundations through digital and intelligent transformation, while the 'new new three' represented by artificial intelligence and innovative drugs are bursting with innovative vitality. The driving role of new momentum in industrial transformation and upgrading continues to stand out," said Chen Xi, a researcher at the macroeconomic research institute under the National Development and Reform Commission.

Thanks to the country's fast-expanding innovation drive, China's export mix has evolved from the old "trio" of apparel, furniture and home appliances, to the recent trio of electric vehicles, lithium batteries and solar panels, to the latest trio of robotics, AI-related products and innovative drugs. This trend highlights a shift from labor-intensive manufacturing to innovation-led growth.

The data also showed that investment structure continued to optimize in July. Capital investment in advanced manufacturing increased by 73.1 percent year on year, 42.5 percentage points higher than that in June, and the number of bids for projects related to new infrastructure such as computing power, data, and networks also maintained year-on-year growth.

"Since the beginning of this year, including in July, new growth drivers have made an increasingly significant contribution to the economy. Production and investment related to artificial intelligence have continued to show good growth momentum. Looking ahead, the growth rate of fiscal expenditure is expected to continue to rebound," said Luo Zhiheng, chief economist at Yuekai Securities.

Industrial parks across China maintain steady operation in July: official data

A United Nations official highlighted China's role in upholding climate multilateralism, including providing support to countries in the Global South and in advancing key decision-making process.

UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell gave the view in an interview with China Media Group (CMG) in Beijing, which was aired on Friday.

Stiell has been advocating for the urgency of taking climate action and building strong climate multilateralism to tackle climate change against global turmoil.

He praised China's determination in taking climate actions within the country and in promoting climate cooperation globally.

"Within this multilateral process, countries are able to step forward, find areas of agreement so that we can move forward. It is how we now transition to this new era, from the negotiations to implementation. I think the key message is that the leadership that China has shown, the contributions it has made [and] continues to make, in terms of driving technological advancement, in terms of what it's doing domestically, its role in terms of providing support for other developing countries within the Global South. The leadership that it has shown, it is shown there, is how that can be brought forward for other countries to step up, and to, within this multilateral environment, push forward other key decisions that need to be made within the process," he said.

According to data, China has signed dozens of climate cooperation agreements with developing countries and organized more than 300 capacity building programs, training over 10,000 climate specialists.

UN official highlights China's role in building climate multilateralism