Increasing demand, improved living standards and new policies curbing private car usage are providing a big boost to China's car rental market.

The Beijing government's restrictions on new license plates were meant to contend with traffic congestion, but are simultaneously threatening the livelihoods of many local dealers of second-hand cars.

China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 4.6 percent in December year on year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced Thursday.

Political consultants to the Shanghai municipal government urged the city to get more deeply involved in its joint venture with Walt Disney Co before signing the final agreements on Shanghai Disneyland.

The amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) into China rose 17.4 percent year-on-year to $105.74 billion last year, said Yao Jian, spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce, Tuesday.