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Volumes Publishing House is enjoying triple-digit sales revenue increases as the high-octane profit engine of Northern United Publishing & Media (Group) Co Ltd. Page 2

China's goal to produce its own jumbo jets is attracting the attention of foreign companies eager to become partners in the endeavor. Page 3

Wuhan Iron and Steel (Group) Corp, the country's third-largest steel maker, signed an agreement with Australian Centrex Metals Ltd (CXM) last week to jointly develop iron ore mines in southern Australia. Page 3

Dassault Systemes Asia is applying its advanced 3D technology to create a virtual, online version of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. Page 3

Thank goodness for China. So goes the thinking among top US executives this summer about China's strong results. Page 4

The decline in profits of China's centrally administered State-owned enterprises (SOEs) continued in the first half of 2009, but at a slower rate.

The 136 SOEs reported profits of 316.03 billion yuan in the first half, according to Li Rongrong, director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

Profits dropped 26.2 percent compared to the same period last year, but the rate of decrease was 15.6 percent lower than the first quarter. In June alone, SOE profits reached 75.19 billion yuan -- a 29.5 percent increase over May's numbers.

Singapore's Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Lee Yi Shyan, officiated at the opening of Li Ning's badminton store in Singapore -- Li Ning's first store in Asia outside China.

Over the past five years, the number of Chinese companies doing business in Singapore has more than doubled.

Singapore's Ministry of State for Trade and Industry reported that the number of Chinese companies in Singapore had increased from 1,300 to 3,000 by March 2009.

At the grand opening of the Li Ning store, Lee praised Li Ning for sponsoring the Singapore Badminton Association's players and tournaments for 2009.

China is expected to overtake Germany as the world's top merchandise exporter this year due to a weak performance of the European economy, an official with the World Trade Organization said Wednesday.

WTO chief economist Patrick Low made the remarks at a two-day gathering of trade ministers from APEC economies in Singapore. Figures from the global trade body show that China's merchandise export totaled $1.428 trillion last year, slightly below Germany's $1.465 trillion.

Crude oil output hit 93.49 million tons in the first half, a decrease of 1 percent year on year, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a report on its website last week.

China's refineries processed 175.13 million tons of crude oil in the first half, up 1.5 percent from the same period last year,

Gas production reached 42 billion cubic meters, an increase of 7.6 percent year on year. The growth rate was 9.7 percentage points lower than the same period last year.

(China Daily 07/27/2009 page1)