Briefly

5G phone shipments soar 63.5%

Shipments of 5G phones in China skyrocketed by 63.5 percent year-on-year to reach 266 million units in 2021, data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology showed. The figure accounted for 75.9 percent of total shipments during the same period, much higher than the global average of 40.7 percent, said the research institute under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Declining phone prices injected impetus into the boom in 5G's popularity, as the price of 5G mobile phones dipped below 1,000 yuan ($157.04), the institute noted. As of the end of December last year, a total of 671 types of 5G terminals obtained a network access license, including 491 types of 5G mobile phones, 161 types of wireless data terminals and 19 types of vehicle wireless terminals, according to the CAICT.

Jiangsu sees record power use in 2021

East China's economic powerhouse Jiangsu province saw its electricity consumption exceed 710 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2021, up 11.4 percent from 2020, hitting a record high. The industrial electricity consumption, the lion's share of the total, reached nearly 500 billion kWh, according to the State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Co Ltd. Notably, industries like transportation, information technology as well as wholesale and retail in Jiangsu recorded a year-on-year electricity consumption growth of more than 20 percent in 2021, the company said. More enterprises in the advanced manufacturing and service sectors are reducing their carbon emissions and seeking digital transformation, which has driven the electricity consumption growth of Jiangsu over the years.

Central bank in 10b yuan of reverse repos

China's central bank on Friday conducted 10 billion yuan ($1.57 billion) of reverse repos to maintain liquidity in the banking system. The interest rate for the seven-day reverse repos was set at 2.2 percent, according to the People's Bank of China. The move aims to keep the liquidity in the banking system reasonably stable, the central bank said. A reverse repo is a process in which the central bank purchases securities from commercial banks through bidding, with an agreement to sell them back in the future.

Foreigners receive more patents

China saw rapid growth of patents and trademarks granted to foreigners in 2021, an official from the country's top intellectual property regulator said. The number of invention patents granted to applicants from foreign countries reached 110,000, up 23 percent from the previous year, and over 194,000 trademarks were registered by foreign applicants, up 5.2 percent year-on-year, according to the National Intellectual Property Administration. The number of patents granted to applicants from the United States rose 32.1 percent and the number of trademarks registered by US applicants went up 17.3 percent. This continued growth of foreign IP granted shows the confidence of foreign enterprises in China's IP protection and business environment.

Xinhua