Briefly

FAW sets target of over 4 million cars

China FAW Group Co Ltd, an automobile maker in the country, plans to sell around 4.1 million vehicles in 2022, growing at an annual rate of 17.1 percent, the company said on Friday. The company's operating revenue is expected to reach 770 billion yuan ($121 billion) this year, with annual growth of 8.9 percent. In 2022, the automaker plans to channel between 3 percent and 3.5 percent of its operating revenue to research and development. Last year, FAW Group sold a total of 3.5 million vehicles. Sales of its leading sedan brand Hongqi came in at 300,000 units in the period, an increase of 50.1 percent year-on-year.

Inner Mongolia's trade rises 17.2%

Foreign trade volume of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region reached about 123.6 billion yuan ($19.5 billion) in 2021, up 17.2 percent year-on-year, local authorities said. The region's exports during the period surged over 37 percent year-on-year to more than 47.8 billion yuan, while its imports grew 7.4 percent to around 75.7 billion yuan, according to the regional government. Its main exports included steel products, electromechanical products, and organic chemicals. Inner Mongolia's imported copper ore and iron ore increased sharply despite its soaring prices. Notably, the region's private sector took the lead in boosting foreign trade growth. Total foreign trade volume contributed by private enterprises increased 14.4 percent year-on-year to over 81 billion yuan, accounting for 65.7 percent of the region's total.

Jiangsu posts robust air cargo growth

East China's Jiangsu province saw its cargo flight sector over the last two years surge by 489.2 percent compared with the level before the COVID-19 epidemic, the provincial border inspection department said. The number of international air cargo flights reached 13,686 in 2020 and 2021, as many passenger aircraft have been refitted into cargo carriers due to the epidemic, according to the department. "The nearly fivefold increase under the context of the epidemic indicates the resilience of Jiangsu's foreign trade," said Chen Xiangyun, director of the department. The province saw its foreign trade grow to a record-high 5.21 trillion yuan ($821 billion) in 2021, up 17.1 percent year-on-year, Customs data showed.

China adds 654,000 5G base stations

China has stepped up its pace of 5G development, adding 654,000 base stations in 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Thursday. So far, nearly 1.43 million 5G base stations have been launched, Tian Yulong, chief engineer of the MIIT, told a news conference. The 5G network now covers all prefecture-level cities, more than 98 percent of county-level urban areas and 80 percent of township-level urban areas across the country, said Zhao Zhiguo, a spokesperson for the MIIT. Shipments of 5G phones in 2021 skyrocketed by 63.5 percent year-on-year to reach 266 million units, demonstrating steady growth momentum, Zhao added.

Renminbi weakens against greenback

The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, weakened 7 pips to 6.3492 against the US dollar on Friday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day. The central parity rate of the yuan against the dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day.

Xinhua