Briefly

Logistics activities ease in August

China's logistics activities eased in August partly due to the hot yet rainy summer weather and COVID-19 outbreaks in some regions. The index tracking the country's logistics market performance stood at 46.3 percent in August, down 2.3 percentage points from July, according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below the level reflects contraction. In August, the sub-index for new orders was 46.9 percent, down 3 percentage points from July, indicating that the recovery of the country's production and consumption demand still lacked momentum.

2021 R&D spending intensity up at 2.4%

China's research and development spending intensity, or the expenditure on R&D as a percentage of its GDP, built up to 2.44 percent in 2021, according to a yearly statistical bulletin. The rate, jumping from 1.91 percent in 2012, ranks the top among developing countries and is higher than the European Union's average level, said the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development. In 2021, China invested 2.8 trillion yuan ($405 billion) in R&D, up 14.6 percent over that of 2020.

E-commerce deals rise 20% last year

The volume of China's total e-commerce transactions rose nearly 20 percent year-on-year in 2021, a report said on Thursday. The transaction volume hit 42.3 trillion yuan ($6.15 trillion) last year, said a report from the Ministry of Commerce at the 2022 China E-commerce Convention. Of the total, the e-commerce transaction volume of goods reached 31.3 trillion yuan, while that of services came in at 11 trillion yuan last year, the report said. China will list 14 e-commerce industrial parks as e-commerce demonstration bases, bringing the total number to 155.

Reverse repos add 2b yuan to liquidity

China's central bank on Friday conducted 2 billion yuan ($290.2 million) of reverse repos to maintain liquidity in the banking system. The interest rate for the seven-day reverse repos was set at 2 percent, according to the People's Bank of China. The move aims to keep stable liquidity in the banking system, the central bank said.

Xinhua