Chinese experts have criticized Germany's decision to cease granting promotional loans to China and deny China's developing country status, calling it a move that succumbs to pressure from the US' cold-war mentality toward China. They warn that Germany risks undermining its own economic interests and damaging the investment confidence of European enterprises in China.

Germany will no longer grant promotional loans to China from 2026 and no longer treat China as a developing country, the Federal Development Ministry (BMZ) confirmed on Tuesday. 

The German ministry said it has informed the Chinese Ministry of Finance in mid-September of the federal government's decision to permanently stop granting promotional loans to China, Reuters reported.

"We are no longer treating China as a developing country," German Development Minister Svenja Schulze said. "China is and remains an important partner, without whom we cannot successfully overcome global crises," she added.

The move reflects some German politicians' alignment with the US in strengthening "decoupling" from China and creating economic and trade barriers aimed at the country, Chen Jia, an independent analyst on global strategy, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Under this Cold War mentality, Germany's push to implement a decoupling policy is not beneficial to EU-China cooperation, Chen noted.

Song Wei, a professor at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said Germany's decision to cease granting promotional loans to China and deny China's developing country status was primarily influenced by US attempts to strip China of its developing country status.

For some time, the US has attempted to deprive China of its developing country status, which has been slammed by Chinese officials.

China's status as the world's largest developing country is rooted in facts and international law. It's not up to the US to decide whether China is a developing country, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a press conference in June.
China's status as a developing country is supported by concrete facts. China's per capita GDP in 2022 was $12,741, or one-fifth of that of advanced economies and only one-sixth that of the US. 

The move by Germany will create an atmosphere of uncertainty, hinder the growth of bilateral trade and investment, and dampen the investment confidence of European business in China, experts said.

China and EU just concluded productive talks during the 10th High-level Economic and Trade Dialogue, with the two sides reaching multiple consensuses, China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Tuesday.

Both sides agreed to further promote the two-way opening of the financial industry and encourage eligible financial institutions to invest and expand their business in each other's markets. 

In the context of a global economic downturn, Germany's cancellation of promotional loans will dampen the investment confidence and expectations of European enterprises in the Chinese market, which is not conducive to the deepening economic and trade cooperation between China and Europe, Song said.

From 2013 to 2022, promotional loans with a total volume of 3.451 billion euros ($3.62 billion) were agreed upon with China. No promotional loans were granted in 2023, according to the Reuters report.

Cui Hongjian, a professor with the Academy of Regional and Global Governance with Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times that these loans primarily support projects related to infrastructure, climate change, environmental protection, and sustainable development. The advantage lies in their relatively fixed and extendable repayment period, as well as the relatively favorable interest rates compared to market rates. 

Cui said that in the future, there may be a shift toward more commercial cooperation rather than policy-driven projects. Additionally, this change may not have a significant impact on large-scale projects, as the Chinese side has sufficient financial capacity for investment, Cui said.

China's major industrial firms saw their profit surge in August, reversing the downward trend and increasing by 17.2 percent from a year earlier, the latest sign of sustained recovery in the world's second-largest economy as stimulus kicks in.

The robust industry growth, which marks the first increase since the second half of 2022, may pave the way for a full rebound as a slew of economic indicators are also pointing to a positive consumption trend during the upcoming Golden Week holidays, observers said.

With consumption and manufacturing activities all in full swing, the domestic economy is expected to ride on the fast track of stabilizing growth, though challenges remain, they noted.

In the first eight months of the year, the profits of major industrial firms with annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan ($2.79 million) reached 4.66 trillion yuan, down 11.7 percent year-on-year, with the pace of decline narrowing by 3.8 percentage points from the first seven months, according to data released on Wednesday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Of the 41 industrial categories monitored by the bureau, 30 posted better performance in terms of profit during the January-August period, with the losses in raw material manufacturing industry narrowing significantly due to rising commodity prices and recovered demand.

As the country's pro-growth policies continued to show their impact in August, industrial production saw a steady recovery, with the improvement in industrial profit gathering momentum, said NBS statistician Yu Weining.

Profit growth for equipment manufacturing was 3.6 percent for the period, growing from the 1.7 percent registered during the first seven months and leading the overall improvement, Yu said, noting that all business entities recorded better performance.

The reversal in August, reflecting that the overall operating conditions of the industrial sector are improving, was mainly driven by the rebound in market demand, improved prices of industrial products, the effects of macro-support policies, and the low base in 2022, Zhou Maohua, an economist at Everbright Bank, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The rebound was in line with the momentum of China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) for August, which came in at 49.7, up 0.4 points from the previous month.

A reading below 50 indicates a contraction, while one above 50 indicates expansion.

"The recovery of the PMI represents stable market confidence and projection, and enterprises' profit recovery is the real consequence, which shows that the general situation is improving," Cong Yi, professor at the Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

All multiple indicators are upbeat signs for the country's overall economic recovery, and also reflect that a series of supportive measures have taken effect, Cong said.

Notably, in the first eight months of 2023, profit of the electricity, heat generation and supply industry surged by 53.4 percent year-on-year, and profits for electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing increased by 33 percent year-on-year. In addition, profit of auto manufacturing increased by 2.4 percent year-on-year.

NBS data also showed that profit of enterprises in the metal, mineral processing, and energy extraction sectors suffered a decrease, while the profits of coal extraction and washing enterprises declined by 26.3 percent year-on-year, and the profit of chemical raw material and production manufacturing enterprises declined by 51.1 percent.

Structural adjustment of China's industrial enterprises growth is ongoing, and it's a vital period now for shifting the country's economic drive force from traditional industry to emerging sectors, Cong said.

Nevertheless, some domestic industrial manufacturing industries are still in the destocking stage, Zhou said, noting that problems such as insufficient market demand and high cost pressures still pose difficulties for company operations. 

"Domestic macro policy support cannot be relaxed," Zhou said.

Chinese authorities have stressed stronger and more precise measures to bolster the recovery over the past months. In a fresh move on Wednesday, China's central bank said at a quarterly meeting that it would step up policy adjustments and implement monetary policies to expand domestic demand and restore confidence.

During the meeting, the bank emphasized the need to intensify the implementation of existing monetary policies, enhance counter-cyclical and cross-cyclical adjustments, and focus on boosting domestic demand and restoring confidence.

In light of the current domestic and international economic situation, the bank noted that "the current external environment has become more complex and challenging," with inflation remaining high and developed countries expected to maintain elevated interest rates. Additionally, it acknowledged that "the domestic economy continues to recover and improve with strengthened momentum, but still faces challenges such as insufficient demand."

Globally, downward pressure on the world economy has been intensifying. 

According to a Reuters report citing an S&P Global survey, business activity in the US, the world's largest economy, showed little change in September, with the vast services sector essentially idling at the slowest pace since February, and overall new order activity slipping to the lowest level in 2023.

On a recent summer afternoon in Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan, there were very few people on the streets, and traffic was relatively light. Such a sight hardly showed any sign of a rapidly shifting global geo-economic landscape.

Yet, a closer look revealed a very interesting dynamic: While a vast majority of the cars on the streets are older sedans carrying the golden cross logo of US carmaker Chevrolet, newer, futuristic ones are often new-energy vehicles (NEVs) produced by Chinese carmaker BYD. The slogan - Build Your Dream - was a distinctive feature on the back of each BYD cars.  

Such a dynamic is expected to become even more significant not just on the streets of Tashkent, but also those of other cities around the world. Last month, BYD and Uzbekistan signed an investment agreement to build a factory for NEVs in the country. Globally, China has become the world's biggest auto exporter and 60 percent of the world's total NEVs are produced and sold in China. 

The rapid rise of China's NEV sector globally is a microcosm of the success of China's industrial upgrade and high-quality development. Recently, as some indicators fell short of sky-high expectations for China's economic recovery this year, some Western officials and media outlets continue to relentlessly hype up the short-term fluctuations in an attempt to smear the Chinese economy. However, such smear completely ignores the achievement of China's industrial upgrade and its pursuit of high-quality development - which has not only seen major progress but also shown vast potential for long-term, sustainable growth that will contribute greatly for the world economy, Chinese officials and economists said. 

Still, China's NEV industry did not rise to its global leading position without a lot of hard work and focus. Industrial transformation and upgrade often come with pain. At a ceremony marking the production of the 5 millionth NEV, Wang Chuanfu, founder of BYD, choked up a few times, as he recalled the hardships the company has faced over the years, including facing bankruptcy at one point. BYD is hardly the only Chinese company that has faced and ultimately overcome such hardships. 

SAIC Volkswagen, a Chinese-German joint venture, represents a typical case. The company had been the industry leader for years in the field of fossil fuel cars. But in 2018, as sales of traditional fossil fuel cars plunged, China's auto industry saw its first ever negative growth, and SAIC also saw major drops in sales and profits. The company started its transition toward NEVs.

"Market choice has pointed toward a clear path. Even if there will be pain, we must closely follow the NEV trend," an executive from SAIC was quoted as saying by the People's Daily.

With that, the company shut down a 40-year-old factory, and invested 17 billion yuan in building a new plant that can produce 300,000 NEVs annually. The company also stepped up spending in research and development (R&D), with industry leading investment despite financial challenges. The result: Starting in July, sales of the company's ID NEVs surpassed 10,000 units for two consecutive months, leading sales of other NEVs produced by joint ventures. And the company continues to invest heavily in NEVs in the second half of 2023. 

Such successful stories of transformation are shared by many other Chinese carmakers. Together, they represent the rise of China's auto industry, with leading production, sales as well as innovations. And the rise of China's industry also reflects China's overall industrial transformation and upgrade, which often encounters challenges but ultimately translates into high-quality development - the central goal of the Chinese economy. 

In a speech at a reception to celebrate the 74th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on September 28, Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed that to achieve high-quality development, the country must fully and faithfully implement the new development philosophy in all aspects, and accelerate the development of a new development paradigm. Xi also pointed out that the economic recovery is picking up pace, contributing to the steady advancement of high-quality development, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Comprehensive view on GDP 

In the first half of 2023, China's GDP grew by 5.5 percent, prompting many speculations and even dire predictions about the Chinese economy.

Is such a growth rate high or low? To answer this question, a comprehensive look at the new addition and the quality of growth, instead of just speed, is necessary. 

"As the world's second-largest economy, a 1 percent growth today is vastly different from that of the past in terms of absolute increment," said Wang Xiaosong, a professor of economics at Renmin University of China in Beijing. In 2022, China's GDP stood at about $18 trillion, the increment from a 1 percent growth rate is equivalent to that of 2.1 percent growth rate 10 years ago - and that of 5.3 percent growth rate in India. 

Moreover, a 5.5 percent growth rate is faster the 3 percent growth rate in 2022 and the 4.5 percent growth rate in the first quarter of 2023 and is the fastest growth rate among major economies. The growth rate is also in line with China's official growth target of about 5 percent in 2023. While many had expected a restorative economic recovery in China, the fact is that over the past three years, the global economy has been deeply troubled by the COVID-19 pandemic and the still ongoing Ukraine crisis. Like the world economy, China's economy also goes through a recovery process and a 5.5 percent growth rate is hard-won.

"You can't expect an athlete to break the 100-meter sprint record, while his body is still recovering," said Wang Changlin, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the People's Daily.

In terms of quality, the 5.5 percent growth rate in the first half of 2023 was led by consumption and investment, instead of investment and exports in 2022. It was also driven by innovation and new growth models. In the first half of the year, the added value of information transmission, software and information technology services jumped by 12.9 percent, while online retail sales of physical goods grew by 10.8 percent. The real growth rate of per capita disposable income of residents across the country was 5.8 percent, significantly faster than that of 2022. China has not just achieved stable growth but also ensured the security of food, energy and industrial and supply chains. 

"One of the highlights of China's economy this year is that the security and sustainability of economic development have been significantly enhanced," Wang Xiaosong said, noting that China's economy is currently very resilient and will continue to maintain the healthy and stable growth.

While some headline figures for areas such as exports, investment, employment and corporate profits were less than impressive, there are also many highlights. In the first half of the year, China's exports to countries participating in the joint construction of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative saw a double-digit growth, combined exports of NEVs, lithium batteries and solar cells jumped by 61.6 percent. In the first eight months, China's auto exports soared 104.4 percent, and ship exports increased by 28 percent. 

"With the continued effect of a series of policy measures, we have the confidence, foundation and conditions to achieve the goal of promoting stability and improving the quality of imports and exports," said Lü Daliang, a spokesperson with the General Administration of Customs, during a press conference in July. 

In terms of investment, in the first half of the year, total fixed-asset investment increased by 3.8 percent year-on-year, with private investment dropping 0.2 percent. However, excluding real estate investment, private investment jumped by 9.4 percent during the same period. China has also taken a slew of measures to stabilize the real estate market. 

Vast potential

"Based on international experience, after an economy reaches a certain scale, industrial upgrading and transformation and development are generally accompanied by short-term slowdown. While accelerating structural adjustment, transformation and upgrading, China's economy has achieved effective qualitative improvement and reasonable quantitative growth, which is extremely difficult," Yang Changyong, a senior researcher from the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research, told the People's Daily. 

Yang said that the Chinese economy can make new breakthroughs and reach new heights if the advantages of the vast domestic consumption are fully leveraged, greater efforts are made in adjusting growth models and structures and boosting growth engines, and a powerful and resilient domestic economy is established. 

China also has the institutional advantage of being a socialist market economy, sufficient macro policy tools and adjustment room, and abundant means and measures to prevent and tackle risks, which ensures long-term stability of the Chinese economy despite challenges, according to Wang Changlin.

The bright prospect of China's high-quality development is also reflected in the steadfast efforts by companies such as BYD and SAIC Volkswagen to transform and innovate. With their advanced technologies and high-quality products reaching every corner of the globe, the world will feel and benefit from China's high-quality development. 

Wu Qiuyu, Zhao Zhanhui and Liu Shiyao are People's Daily reporters; Wang Cong is a Global Times reporter.

Seventy-five days after having returned to the ground, the Shenzhou-14 crew members met the press on Friday and were in good spirits. They were also in good physical and mental shape, said health experts at the press conference, noting that they have now moved into the recovery observation stage and will be able to return to normal soon.

The recovery of normal body function for the taikonauts after they returned from space consists of three stages - quarantine, convalescence and observation - according to health experts speaking at the press conference on Friday.

The Shenzhou-14 crew has completed the first two stages, showing a stable emotional status and good mental condition, and their body weight has stabilized at pre-flight level. The muscle strength, endurance and cardiorespiratory reserves have been further restored, achieving the expected results.

They have now moved into the third stage of recovery observation. After an overall evaluation, the three taikonauts will be able to return to normal training and work.

After concluding their six-month stay at the China Space Station and completing the first direct handover in orbit in the country's history, Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe, the three taikonauts of the Shenzhou-14 safely returned to Earth on December 4, 2022.

It marked the first return mission after the completion of the China Space Station's T-shape basic structure.

China successfully launched the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft into designated orbit on Wednesday, achieving a key victory of the first launch mission to the China Space Station since the Chinese crewed space outpost entered a normal operation and development phase at the end of 2022.

Carrying the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft, China's Long March-7 Y7 carrier rocket took off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in South China's Hainan Province on Wednesday at around 9:22 pm. After a flight lasting 10 minutes, the flagship spacecraft for the China Space Station new phase entered its preset orbit, which, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), marked the success of the launch mission.

The launcher's developer, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), under the state-owned space giant China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), told the Global Times that Long March-7 has executed five Tianzhou cargo spacecraft launches since its maiden flight in 2016, with a perfect success rate.

The CALT also disclosed that following the Wednesday mission, another two orbital launches for the China Space Station would be carried out in 2023.

Wang Ran, chief designer of the cargo spacecraft system with China Academy of Spacecraft Technology (CAST) under the CASC, revealed that the new series of the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft, starting from Tianzhou-6 to Tianzhou-11, would be further upgraded compared to its predecessors, as its cargo capacity has been increased from the previous 6.9 tons to 7.4 tons, which makes the new Tianzhou spacecraft one of the strongest cargo spacecraft in the world. 

It was the first time that Tianzhou spacecraft possesses the cargo capacity exceeding 7 tons, which would reduce the frequency of cargo mission to the space station to three times in two years from four times in two years, boosting the comprehensive efficiency of the space station project. 

According to the CAST, the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft is tasked with ferrying essential supplies for taikonauts that can sustain a three-strong crew's 280 days in space, around 260 different goods weighing some 5.8 tons as well as multiple payloads for scientific experiment and technology verification, to the China Space Station. 

Lü Congmin, deputy chief designer of the space application system and research fellow with the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the Global Times that Tianzhou-6 will upload 98 pieces of payload and experiment materials weighing some 714 kilograms to the China Space Station. 

They will be used to carry out 29 scientific and application experiments in four domains - space life science and biotechnology, microgravity fluid physics and combustion science, space material science, and space application of new technology - according to Lü. 

According to developers with the CAST, starting with the Tianzhou-6, the technology team has upgraded the spacecraft system, including making improvement to the cargo cabin of the spacecraft and boosting the airtight cabin's cargo transport capability, which would provide more goods to the taikonauts to sustain a longer stay in space. 

The CAST stressed that through the implementation of comprehensive guarantee measures, 100 percent localization of key components has been realized.

The Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft is also the most versatile of its kind in terms of supporting capability in orbit; it is tasked to not only deliver supplies to the China Space Station, complete the attitude control of the space station combination, but also carry out space scientific and technological experiment. It will also unload waste from the China Space Station before falling back with control, the CAST told the Global Times in a statement. 

The stowage of the airtight cabin of the Tianzhou-6, according to the CAST insiders, has increased from 18.1 cubic meters to 22.5 cubic meters, an increase of 20 percent. The cargo capacity of the airtight cabin increased by 22 percent to 6.7 tons after upgrade, and that for the whole craft has been increased from 6.9 tons to 7.4 tons.

The Tianzhou-6 spacecraft will also deliver some 70 kilograms of fresh fruit for the crew to enjoy, which is twice the weight of fruit carried by the Tianzhou-5, according to Wang. 

"We used to be unsure about how long will such fresh fruit can be preserved in space. However, after learning from the past year, we are now sure about that we have the capability to upload more fruit at a time," Wang noted. 

Tianzhou-6 also delivered 1.75 tons of propellant, of which 700 kilograms will be provided to the space station.

Construction on China's first deep-sea multi-functional scientific investigation and cultural relic archaeological vessel officially began in Nansha, Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province on Sunday. The ship is expected to be completed and put into operation in 2025, CCTV reported on Monday.

According to the report, the ship has a total design length of approximately 103 meters, a designed displacement of approximately 9,200 tons, a maximum speed of 29.63 kilometers per hour, a reach of 15,000 nautical miles, and can accommodate up to 80 crew members. 

The vessel is a new type of multi-functional scientific research vessel capable of conducting deep-sea scientific investigations and cultural relic excavations, as well as polar sea area investigations in summer. 

The ship has a number of iconic features, including unrestricted waterway navigation, manned diving, deep-sea detection and heavy-duty safety payload capabilities, providing the necessary sample and environmental data for forefront geological, environmental, and biological sciences research in the deep and remote ocean. 

It also provides related discipline guidance and underwater operations support for deep-sea archaeology, while supporting sea trial and use of core deep-sea equipment.

In the future, the vessel will become an open and shared maritime platform for multi-system integration, interdisciplinary crossover, and collaborative innovation in China, which is of great significance for strengthening China's substantial presence in the global deep-sea research, enhancing China's deep-sea archaeological capabilities, and realizing full-scale access to the global deep sea.

Song Jianzhong, a researcher at the National Centre for Archaeology, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the ship would provide solid support for Chinese deep-sea archaeology.

Two ancient ships carrying numerous cultural relics were discovered in October 2022 in the South China Sea at a depth of about 1,500 meters, and are currently undergoing excavation work. 

He Guangwei, deputy chief engineer at the Guangzhou Shipyard International Company Limited, stated that there is currently no ship in China capable of conducting manned deep-sea scientific investigations in polar regions. The construction of this vessel will fill this gap.

This ship is designed to conduct manned deep-sea scientific investigations in polar regions while also being able to carry out cultural relic archaeology and operations in the South China Sea. The ship has many key technologies, including icebreaking capabilities and anti-freezing materials for polar environments, and related operating and detecting equipment for scientific investigations in polar regions.

Twenty-one people have died and another six are missing as of Sunday evening after heavy rainfall hit Xi’an, Northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, and caused mountain floods and mudslides on Friday evening. 

Due to the impact of short-duration heavy rain, mountain floods and mudslides struck a village in Chang’an district in Xi’an around 6 pm on Friday. The disaster has damaged two houses occupying a total area of 300 square meters, destroyed three sections and slightly damaged 21 sections on the National Highway 210, damaged three electric power supply infrastructures and left 900 households out of power, according to Xi’an Bureau of Emergency Management. 

Xi’an city immediately set up an on-site command center, organized a total of 14 rescue teams including firefighting and police departments with more than 980 personnel, and deployed over 1,100 units of equipment and tools including life detectors, satellite phones, excavators, and search and rescue dogs, working around the clock to carry out search and rescue as well as disaster relief operations.

As of Sunday evening, 186 residents have been relocated and resettled, three severely damaged sections of the National Highway 210 have been restored, 21 slightly damaged road sections are under reinforcement, communication services have been restored in 49 affected areas, and power supply has been restored to 855 households.

The city is making every effort to seize the critical period for rescue operations, continuing to search for missing individuals restlessly, as well as remove risks to prevent the occurrence of secondary disasters.  

Preliminary investigations showed that two houses in the village were washed away, a with nearby roads, bridges, power supplies and other infrastructures damaged, leaving local residents partially cut off with the outside world. 

Local media reported that as of Sunday Morning, four people had been confirmed dead, while 14 others remain missing. 

The Xi'an detachment of the armed police force in Shaanxi deployed more than 100 personnel to the impacted area. Preliminary search and rescue operations remain underway. 

As of Sunday morning, rescue forces have transferred 81 residents and 11 vehicles to safe locations, and are assisting with the search and recovery of four deceased villagers, with emergency workers scanning an area 65 kilometers in length along a nearby river.  

According to a local villager surnamed Li (pseudonym), flooding and mudslides began following one or two hours of heavy rain on Friday afternoon. Two dwellings swept away by flood waters operated agritourism business, but there was yet to be confirmation whether guests were inside during flooding. 

Local fire department, police and emergency management authorities are working to coordinate rescue efforts. 

Upon receiving the report, China's Ministry of Emergency Management has dispatched a working group to the disaster site to assist with rescue and response efforts and have also mobilized a local fire and rescue team consisting of 207 personnel to carry out rescue operations.

Many localities have issued policies to encourage state-owned enterprises to play an exemplary role in stabilizing employment and expand recruitment of college graduates, with some provinces and cities requiring no less than half of the hiring quota at state-owned enterprises be dedicated to college graduates.

The office of the Guangdong Provincial People's Government recently published a notice on optimizing and adjusting stable employment policies and measures to promote development and benefit people's livelihood. Showing clear support for state-owned enterprises expanding the scale of recruitment, the notice pointed out that the number of new college graduates recruited by state-owned enterprises in the province this year should be no lower than that of 2022.

Additionally, East China's Anhui Province also issued a notice requiring state-owned enterprises to recruit at least 50 percent of fresh graduates to ensure that the number of college graduates accepted by state-owned enterprises remains stable.

Besides this, the provinces of Hunan, Gansu and Jiangxi have made similar notices. Among them, Central China's Hunan Province requires that provincial state-owned enterprises accept more than 4,700 graduates, while Northwest China's Gansu requires provincial state-owned enterprises to recruit more than 5,000 college graduates in 2023. Meanwhile, provincial state-owned enterprises funded and supervised by the Jiangxi government are set to recruit no less than 5,000 college graduates this year.

The number of college graduates is expected to reach 11.58 million before the end of 2023, an increase of 820,000, according to estimates by China's Ministry of Education. 

South China's Hainan Province proposed in July that state-owned enterprises should play a role in attracting young employees and ensure that no less than 1,000 college graduates are recruited by the end of 2023, while East China's Fujian Province is requiring the implementation of a one-time increase at state-owned enterprises to ensure that the number of college graduates recruited exceeds that of 2022.

An employee at PetroChina's Beijing branch surnamed Li told the Global Times on Sunday that more than 80 percent of new hires at the branch office in 2023 have been graduates. Moreover, a staff member surnamed Zhao with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's research and development center in Beijing told the Global Times that the recruitment rate of graduates at the company in 2023 reached 90 percent.

The demand for state-owned enterprises to expand the scale of recruitment is in response to graduate demand and aims to alleviate the current problem of comparatively low youth employment, Xiong Bingqi, director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute in Beijing, told the Global Times on Sunday. 

According to Xinhua News Agency, as of August 11, the number of college graduates recruited by central enterprises and state-owned enterprises under the national asset supervision system has exceeded the same period in 2022. With the summer recruitment of state-owned enterprises gradually underway, it is expected that the recruitment volume will continue to increase in the future.

The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council has also made arrangements for the recruitment of college graduates by state-owned enterprises in 2024 at a meeting held in July.

The meeting required central enterprises and local state-owned enterprises to strive to complete the recruitment plan for the 2024 college graduates by the end of August, and gradually provide a batch of high-quality positions in September and October, in order to identify a group of high-quality target candidates as early as possible.

According to the Xinhua News Agency, as of August 11, the number of college graduates recruited by state-owned enterprises under the national asset supervision system has exceeded the same period in 2022. With the summer recruitment of state-owned enterprises gradually underway, it is expected that recruitment volume will continue to increase in the future.

The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council has made arrangements for the recruitment of college graduates by state-owned enterprises in 2024 at a meeting held in July.

The meeting required central and local state-owned enterprises to strive to complete recruitment plans for the 2024 college graduates by the end of August, and gradually provide a batch of high-quality positions in September and October, in order to identify a group of high-quality target candidates as early as possible.

The local court in Foshan, South China's Guangdong Province, recently announced the verdict in a case involving railway station employees who exploited their positions for financial gain by illegally selling private travel details of celebrities, according to a CCTV report on Saturday.

The Nanhai District's People's Court condemned a total of eight defendants to sentences ranging from 9 months to 3 years and 8 months in prison, along with fines totaling over 560,000 yuan ($87,000). Besides, the eight were ordered to delete the illegally obtained information and issue public apologies through national-level media outlets.

The case dates back to January 2019 when the main defendant, Chen, and other four colleagues leveraged their roles as railway station customer service staff to profit from selling celebrity's information such as high-speed train travel times, seat assignments, station locations, and identification numbers. 

This information was sold to interested parties at prices ranging from 10 to 60 yuan per entry. When Chen was off duty, colleagues assisted in conducting searches, for which they were paid 5 to 10 yuan per request by Chen. He also promoted their services through multiple WeChat groups, advertising their ability to provide such information. While the other three people resold the information at higher prices to others after purchasing celebrity information from the aforementioned five staff members. 

The total illegal gains of the 8 individuals amounted to over 560,000 yuan, while Chen amassed approximately 190,000 yuan in profits. The court determined that Chen and other accomplices had committed the crime of infringing upon citizens' personal information, resulting in both criminal and civil liability.

After the first-instance verdict was announced, some defendants, including Chen, appealed the decision. Following a review by the Foshan Intermediate People's Court, the appeals were rejected, and the original verdict was upheld.

"The Criminal Law stipulates that individuals who sell or provide citizens' personal information obtained during their duties or service shall be heavily penalized," a Beijing-based lawyer told the Global Times.

According to Judge Zhong Qiwen from the Nanhai District People's Court, if citizens engage in the illicit sale, provision, or acquisition of communication content, credit information, financial data, and movement traces, exceeding 50 instances, criminal charges can be brought forth.

Zhong further clarified that as per judicial interpretations, criminal liability is triggered when illegal gains exceed 5,000 yuan. If these gains reach 50,000 yuan, the offense will be deemed especially severe. Specialized individuals handling personal information face stricter criteria; if more than half of their illegal gains surpass the thresholds, they face heightened penalties.

The court underscored the prevalence of personal information breaches in sectors like transportation, express delivery, accommodation, and intermediaries. Zhong reminded citizens that publicly available information still falls within the category of personal information and emphasized the need to protect such data.

In recent years, the media have frequently reported instances of congestion and disruptions in airports and railway stations caused by large-scale fan gatherings during celebrity arrivals. In 2019, at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport, the influx of fans resulted in glass breakage due to the crowd's intensity.

A 21-year-old woman, who declined to be named, told the Global Times that she had spent over 300 yuan purchasing a celebrity's travel information which proved to be the true later, from scalpers. However, she is unaware of the source's origin.