1. Continuously expanding high-standard opening up

This year's government work report proposes to expand high-standard opening up to the world, and take proactive measures to stabilize foreign trade and foreign investment. The deputies expressed that expanding high-standard opening up is a natural requirement based on the new development stage, and efforts will be made from multiple aspects to promote the high-standard opening up.

2.China's exhibition industry achieving steady development

The exhibition industry is an important part of the modern industrial system and an important platform for promoting higher-standard opening up, and comprehensively advancing Chinese path to modernization and high-quality economic development. The China Exhibition Economy Development Report 2024 recently released by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade showed that a total of 3844 business and trade exhibitions were held in China in 2024, basically the same as the previous year, with a total exhibition area of 155 million square meters, an increase of 10.1 percent year-on-year. The exhibition industry presented a trend of steady development.

1. China has issued comprehensive guidelines to accelerate the high-quality development of its environmental protection equipment manufacturing sector, targeting global competitiveness in the green technology market. The document was released on March 12 by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the State Administration for Market Regulation. It aims to drive the industry's sustained growth and transition toward low-carbon and circular development.

2. Beijing will introduce artificial intelligence (AI) courses for primary and secondary school students, in an effort to nurture future-oriented and innovative talent. Starting from the upcoming fall semester, schools across the Chinese capital will offer at least eight class hours of AI instruction per academic year. These courses can either be delivered independently or integrated with other subjects, such as information technology, according to a work plan recently published on the official website of the Beijing Municipal Education Commission.

1. China's official gold reserves came in at 73.61 million ounces at the end of February, up from 73.45 million ounces a month earlier, marking the fourth consecutive month of increase, according to the People's Bank of China.

2. In the first two months of this year, the total import and export value of nine provinces and regions in the Yellow River Basin grew 7.8 percent year on year to RMB 939.53 billion during the first two months this year, 9 percentage points higher than the national growth rate. Among them, exports rose 9.5 percent to RMB 569 billion, while imports grew 5.3 percent to RMB 370.53 billion.

3. Data released by the State Administration for Market Regulation on March 8 showed that by the end of 2024, women-invested private enterprises in China exceeded 23 million, accounting for 41.6 percent of all private legal entities, with an average annual growth rate of 9.8 percent since the 18th CPC National Congress.

4. With the boom in the domestic tourism market, 5.6 billion tourist trips were made in China in 2024 with a year-on-year increase of 15 percent, and the domestic tourism consumption reached about RMB 5.7 trillion, up 17 percent year on year. Meanwhile, the inbound tourism market also performed well, with about 132 million visits contributing nearly USD 100 billion in revenue, Sun Yeli, Minister of Culture and Tourism, said in an interview after the closing meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress.

5. Data from China Association of Automobile Manufacturers revealed that new energy vehicle production and sales reached 1.903 million and 1.835 million units in the first two months of 2025, both marking a 52 percent year-on-year growth.

6. According to a population survey released by the Anhui Provincial Bureau of Statistics on March 10, the permanent resident population in Hefei, its capital city, reached 10.002 million in 2024, with an urbanization rate of 86.38 percent, making it another city with the population over 10 million.

7. China's total installed power generation capacity is expected to exceed 3.6 billion kilowatts in 2025, and over 200 million kilowatts of installed new energy capacity will be added, according to the guidelines on China's energy sector released by the National Energy Administration.

8. The SME development index in February rose by 0.8 point from the previous month to 89.8, the China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises data showed, marking the highest level in nearly four years. All sub-indices and sectoral indices registered across-the-board increases.

9. China's largest ultra-deep oil and gas production base, the Tarim oilfield, has extracted 150 million metric tons of oil and gas equivalent from formations deeper than 6,000 meters by March 13. This accounts for 37 percent of the country's total oil and gas output last year, said China National Petroleum Corporation.

10. A series of events featuring Chinese cuisine will be held this year by the Ministry of Commerce and other departments to drive consumption, including over 120 events themed “Taste China, Together We Thrive. ”