NEW: Here are five things that happened in China this week

Manyika Kangai

China’s third Belt and Road Forum

China held its third Belt and Road Forum this week. Representatives from 140 countries and 30 global organisations attended the forum — which marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative — including Russian President Vladimir Putin, who gave his first international address since the war in Ukraine. Chinese President Xi Jinping gave his keynote speech on Wednesday and unveiled eight major steps to usher the initiative into another “golden decade”. The steps include a logistics corridor across Europe and Asia; a “silk road e-commerce zone”, with more free-trade agreements and investment treaties; a financing pledge of US$47,8 billion from Chinese development banks; a push for green development; pledges on scientific development and AI; more cultural and people-to-people exchanges; improving transparency; and efforts to establish Belt and Road institutions.

China’s GDP

China’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 4,9 percent year-on-year in the third quarter and 5,2 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters of 2023, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Wednesday. China’s GDP reached over 91,3 trillion yuan (about US$12,7 trillion) in the first three quarters. China’s retail sales of consumer goods went up 6,8 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters and the country’s value-added industrial output rose by 4 percent year-on-year in the same period. According to the NBS, this economic growth in the first three quarters of 2023 has laid a solid foundation for China to fulfil its full-year growth target of around 5 percent.

Canton Fair kicks off

The 134th session of the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, opened in Guangzhou, capital of south China’s Guangdong province. The event, which will run until November 4, has attracted exhibitors and buyers from across the globe. Over 100 000 buyers from more than 200 countries and regions are at the event, according to Xu Bing, spokesperson for the fair. There is also an online platform for the fair, which is offering services for both exhibitors and buyers. Compared to the previous edition, the exhibition area for the 134th session was expanded by 50 000 square metres and the number of exhibition booths increased by nearly 4 600. More than 28 000 exhibitors are participating in the event, including 650 enterprises from 43 countries and regions. Launched in 1957, and held twice a year, the fair is considered a major gauge of China’s foreign trade.

China’s electricity use up

China’s electricity consumption continued stable expansion in September, according to the National Energy Administration. Power usage climbed 9,9 percent from a year ago to 781,1 billion kilowatt-hours last month. Power consumption by primary industries increased by 8,6 percent year-on-year, while power consumption by secondary and tertiary sectors gained 8,7 percent and 16,9 percent, respectively. Residential power usage saw a year-on-year increase of 6,6 percent to 103,5 billion kilowatt-hours in September. In the first three quarters, the country’s electricity consumption rose 5,6 percent from a year earlier to 6,86 trillion kilowatt-hours.

China approves ‘flying taxi’

Chinese drone startup EHang has obtained type certification (TC) for its Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft, in what the company is calling the “world’s first” such approval. EHang announced that its EH216-S aircraft had received the approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), indicating the model’s airworthiness and bringing it closer to commercial operation. The fully automated EH216-S seats two people and has a range of 30 kilometres. Since the CAAC received the company’s application for type certification in January 2021, tests of the vehicle’s structural strength, crashworthiness and various systems were conducted at multiple locations in China. The vehicle cleared more than 500 test items and completed more than 40 000 test flights, according to the company. EHang, which was founded in 2014 and unveiled its eVTOL craft in 2016, leads a crowded field in China of automakers and other startups trying to break into the emerging market for the fliers.