Everything You Need to Know About China's Economy on Wednesday (July 23)
Your Daily & Trustworthy Updates on the Chinese Economy
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HOWDY! This is TIAN in Beijing, welcoming you to your Wednesday edition of Everything You Need to Know About China’s Economy.
DRIVING THE DAY, CHINA'S HAINAN FREE TRADE PORT TO OFFICIALLY LAUNCH ISLAND-WIDE INDEPENDENT CUSTOMS OPERATION ON DEC. 18, 2025.
The proportion of tariff lines with zero-tariff products in Hainan Free Trade Port will increase from 21 percent to 74 percent, said the National Development and Reform Commission.
The free trade port will launch island-wide independent customs operation on Dec. 18, 2025 and duty-free items in Hainan will increase from about 1,900 to around 6,600, marking a significant boost in openness.
Imported products that undergo at least 30 percent value-added processing in Hainan can enter the mainland tariff-free. Certain goods currently banned or restricted nationwide will enjoy open policies in Hainan.
"We will take a targeted regulatory approach of low-intervention and high-efficiency for zero-tariff and relaxed management goods, ensuring smooth implementation of the opening-up policies," said Wang Changlin, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission.
MEANWHILE, FOREIGN-INVESTED COMPANIES IN CHINA SAW TRADE VALUE UP 2.4% IN FIRST HALF.
Foreign-invested companies in China saw their export and import value grow by 2.4 percent year-on-year to 6.32 trillion yuan ($881.2 billion) in the first half, marking growth for the fifth consecutive quarter, statistics from the General Administration of Customs showed.
The number of foreign-invested businesses in the country with actual import and export activities amounted to 75,000 in the first six months, the highest level for the same period since 2021, said the administration.
China's evolving industrial ecosystem — combining cost, quality and speed with advanced infrastructure — is transforming into a collaborative innovation hub where multinationals co-develop and expand alongside local partners, said Mohamed Kande, global chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Ltd, a London-based global accounting company.
The Ministry of Commerce said foreign direct investment in China's manufacturing sector reached 109.06 billion yuan in the first half, while high-tech industries attracted 127.87 billion yuan. FDI inflows from Switzerland, Japan, the United Kingdom and Germany rose by 68.6 percent, 59.1 percent, 37.6 percent and 6.3 percent, respectively.
ALSO ON WEDNESDAY, VISA-FREE ENTRIES INTO CHINA DOUBLE IN 2024.
The number of visa-free entries into China in 2024 reached nearly 20.12 million, a 112.3 percent increase from the previous year, official data showed.
Qi Yanjun, vice minister of public security, announced the statistics at a press conference .
Qi also noted that the total number of foreign entries into China in 2024 reached 32.54 million, which was 80.7 percent higher than the figure of 2023.
IN TODAY'S FINANCIAL MARKET,
Chinese stocks closed mixed on Wednesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.01 percent to 3,582.3 points.
The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.37 percent lower at 11,059.04 points.
The combined turnover of these two indices stood at over 1.86 trillion yuan (about 260.45 billion U.S. dollars), down from 1.89 trillion yuan the previous trading day.
Stocks related to aesthetic medicine, new medicine and insurance led the gains, while stocks related to cement and building materials and power grids suffered major losses.
The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, lost 0.01 percent to close at 2,310.67 points Wednesday.
Hong Kong stocks close 1.62 pct higher
Hong Kong's stock market ended higher Wednesday with the benchmark Hang Seng Index up 1.62 percent to close at 25,538.07 points.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 1.82 percent to end at 9,241.2 points, and the Hang Seng Tech Index rose 2.48 percent to end at 5,745.74 points.
Chinese yuan strengthens to 7.1414 against USD Wednesday
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 46 pips to 7.1414 against the U.S. dollar Wednesday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.
In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.
China's benchmark interbank gold prices mixed Wednesday
According to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System, the benchmark price for gold that is 99.95 percent pure or above stood at 780.87 yuan per gram, up 4.85 yuan from the previous trading day.
The price for gold that is 99.99 percent pure or above was up 3.01 yuan from the previous trading day to 780.35 yuan.
AT THE END OF TODAY'S SHARING, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR DAILY FUTURES:
No.1 soybean futures closed higher on Wednesday in daytime trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE).
The most active No.1 soybean contract for September 2025 delivery gained 4 yuan (about 56 U.S. cents) to close at 4,217 yuan per tonne.
On Wednesday, the total trading volume of six listed No.1 soybean futures contracts on the exchange was 182,347 lots, with a turnover of about 7.67 billion yuan.
Iron ore futures closed lower on Wednesday in daytime trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange.
The most active iron ore contract for September 2025 delivery dipped 5 yuan (about 70 U.S. cents) to close at 812 yuan per tonne.
On Wednesday, the total trading volume of 12 listed iron ore futures contracts on the exchange was 731,653 lots, with a turnover of about 58.98 billion yuan.
Cotton futures closed higher Wednesday in daytime trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE).
The most active cotton contract for September 2025 delivery gained 5 yuan (about 70.01 U.S. cents) to close at 14,180 yuan per tonne.
On Wednesday, the total trading volume for six listed cotton futures contracts on the ZCE was 321,094 lots with a turnover of 22.74 billion yuan.
Sugar futures closed higher Wednesday in daytime trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange.
The most active sugar contract for September 2025 delivery gained 9 yuan (about 1.26 U.S. dollars) to close at 5,834 yuan per tonne.
On Wednesday, the total trading volume for six listed sugar futures contracts on the ZCE was 240,146 lots with a turnover of 13.9 billion yuan.
About the Newsletter:
Ran by TIAN Dongdong, this newsletter features daily and trustworthy content on China's economy. Having worked in Brussels, London, Cairo, and Tripoli for Chinese media as correspondent for several years, TIAN is now based in Beijing.