Briefly

Service outsourcing posts steady growth

China's service outsourcing industry posted steady expansion in the first seven months, said the Ministry of Commerce. Chinese firms signed service outsourcing contracts worth about 1.09 trillion yuan ($160.42 billion) in the January-July period, up 12.1 percent year-on-year. Executed contract value came in at 735.1 billion yuan during the period, up 13.1 percent.

Shanghai-EU Jan-July trade exceeds $65b

Imports and exports between Shanghai and its largest foreign-trade partner, the European Union, reached 450.81 billion yuan ($65.8 billion) in the first seven months, marking a slight decrease of 0.2 percent year-on-year. The figure accounted for 19.7 percent of Shanghai's total trade value during the period. Over the seven months, Shanghai's total import and export volume reached 2.28 trillion yuan, up 3.03 percent, according to Shanghai Customs. Shanghai's January-July exports to the EU reached 162.19 billion yuan, up 22.5 percent, while its imports from the EU reached 288.62 billion yuan, down 9.6 percent.

Xinhua