2010 auto sales up 32% to 18.06m
CHINA S auto sales hit 18.06 million last year, up 32.37 percent from the previous year, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) announced yesterday.
China s car output topped 18.26 million last year, an annual increase of 32.44 percent, Zhu Yiping, associate secretary-general of CAAM, told a press conference. Both figures underpinned China s position as the world s biggest car producer and market, Zhu said.
Govt. to boost lending to agriculture
THE government would boost lending to agriculture to help counter inflation, which was likely to persist this year given loose monetary policies by developed countries, Vice Minister of Finance Li Yong said in an article posted on the department s Web site yesterday.
China would also use foreign investment to develop energy-saving and low-emission technologies, Li said, speaking at a Jan. 6 meeting outlining the department s major tasks this year, the article said.
Henan to raise energy spending by 25%
THE country s central province of Henan planned to increase energy investment by 25 percent in 2011, Xinhua reported yesterday.
The province aimed to spend 50 billion yuan (US$7.5 billion) this year to boost capacity in thermal power generation, electricity grid and coal production, and on conducting preliminary work to build nuclear power facilities, Xinhua said, quoting Zhang Weining, head of the Henan Provincial Development and Reform Commission. Henan would increase coal output capacity by 4.2 million tons in 2011 and power generation capacity by 5,200 megawatts, Xinhua said.
China produces more gold in 2010
CHINA S gold output in the 11 months to November last year reached 308.39 tons, up 25.89 tons or 9.16 percent year on year, according to the latest figures from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
The MIIT forecast total gold output in China would exceed 340 tons in 2010, compared with 313.98 tons of gold produced in 2009. China s gold output has maintained annual increases in recent years as production in 2010 would likely double that in 2000.
