Quality of GDP statistics improving

Figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics show that China's GDP grew by 6.9 percent in real terms to reach 82.7 trillion yuan (nearly $13 trillion) last year. Between 2010 and 2017, the size of China's nominal GDP has increased from 39 percent to 63 percent of the United States' GDP, and it will overtake the United States to become the largest economy by 2025 even if its speed of catching up were to slow a bit.

Chinese students are not spies

Following a deadly Florida school shooting, that resulted in 17 deaths, including that of a Chinese-American student who held the door to let classmates escape, we learned that the FBI received a tip-off about the shooter last month, but failed to act.

US, ROK will ruin legacy of Winter Olympic Games with military drills

The Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, which came to a close on Sunday, offered the two sides on the Korean Peninsula a chance to deescalate tensions. The international community is closely watching developments after the games.

Credit reference platform gets nod

Baihang Credit Scoring, China's first credit reference firm which provides ratings on individuals borrowing money from online finance companies, is expected to start operations soon, having received the green light from the country's central bank on Thursday.

Xiaomi, Microsoft plan AI cooperation

Xiaomi Corp inked a deal with Microsoft Corp on Friday to deepen cooperation in artificial intelligence, cloud computing and laptops, as part of the Chinese smartphone vendor's going-global efforts this year.

UK firm buoyed by its success in China

UK-headquartered infant swimming school Water Babies plans to open its first swim centers in China this year, and intends to go on to build 80 facilities across the country in the next 10 years.

Leshi admits to major accounting problems

Leshi Internet Information& Technology Corp, the listed arm of troubled Chinese internet company LeEco, told a shareholder meeting on Friday that it is facing a major accounting problem due to the huge related party transactions.

Investors make a beeline for Xiongan New Area stocks

Companies related to Xiongan New Area saw their share prices surge on Friday, a day after an official release outlined the guidelines for the area.

IN BRIEF (Page 6)

ROLE MODEL FOR INNOVATION, HIGH-QUALITY DEVELOPMENT

Editor's Note: The Xiongan New Area, a new economic zone in Hebei province, some 100 kilometers southwest of Beijing, will mark the first anniversary of its inception on April 1 this year. The new zone is seen as an important area of national significance after the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and the Shanghai Pudong New Area and a historic project "crucial for the millennium to come". Xiongan New

McCarthyism making a comeback in the US

When we learn that Chinese students and scholars were singled out as a threat to US national security at a congressional hearing on Feb 13, what comes to mind is nothing but the return of the notorious McCarthyism.

Merkel's alarmist talk harks back to days of the Cold War

Since China launched its Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, some politicians in the West have taken a skeptical attitude toward it, and even drummed up suspicions with their outdated "China threat" rhetoric. In the latest, and unexpected example, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that China must not link its investments in the western Balkans to political demands at a joint news conference with Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev in Berlin on Wednesday.