Everything You Need to Know About China's Economy on Thursday (Nov. 21)
Your Daily & Trustworthy Updates on the Chinese Economy
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HOWDY! It’s Thursday. This is TIAN in Beijing.
DRIVING THE DAY, China's National Energy Administration (NEA) on Thursday said it issued 1.23 billion green electricity certificates (GECs) in October.
The certificates, representing renewable energy production, included 530 million from wind power, accounting for 43.01 percent of the total, and 197 million from solar power, making up 16.02 percent.
By the end of October, China had cumulatively issued 3.55 billion GECs, with wind power and solar power certificates totaling 1.32 billion and 681 million, respectively.
Last month, 25.42 million GECs were traded nationwide. Cumulatively, by the end of October, 384 million GECs had been traded, the NEA said.
China introduced the green certificate system as a pilot program in 2017. In December 2023, the NEA issued the first batch of GECs, totaling 11.91 million, after being designated as the authority responsible for GEC management.
MEANWHILE, a superlarge gold deposit with estimated reserves of more than 1,000 tonnes has been found in central China's Hunan Province, the Geological Bureau of Hunan Province said Thursday.
Geologists have detected over 40 gold veins, with a reserve of 300 tonnes of gold, within a depth of 2,000 meters beneath the Wangu gold field in Pingjiang County, according to the bureau.
The site's gold reserve within the depth of 3,000 meters is further estimated at over 1,000 tonnes, valued at 600 billion yuan (about 83 billion U.S. dollars).
ALSO ON THURSDAY, China has constructed almost ten thousand digitalized workshops and smart factories nationwide, Chinese Academy of Cyberspace Studies said in a report.
Among these, 421 have been cultivated as national-level smart manufacturing demonstration factories, 90 percent of which have applied technologies such as artificial intelligence and digital twins, said the China Internet Development Report 2024.
By the end of 2023, the number of valid AI invention patents in China had reached 378,000, representing year-on-year growth of over 40 percent -- 1.4 times the global average growth rate, said the report.
IN TODAY'S FINANCIAL MARKET,
Chinese stocks closed mixed on Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.07 percent to 3,370.4 points.
The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.07 percent lower at 10,819.88 points.
The combined turnover of these two indices stood at 1.66 trillion yuan (about 230 billion U.S. dollars), up from 1.61 trillion yuan recorded on the previous trading day.
Shares in the ceramics, papermaking and textile industries led the gains, while those related to the oil, environmental protection and tourism suffered major declines.
The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, lost 0.09 percent to close at 2,265.87 points Thursday.
China's benchmark interbank gold prices mixed Thursday
According to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System, the benchmark price for gold that is 99.95 percent pure or above stood at 609 yuan (about 84.66 U.S. dollars) per gram, 2.18 yuan higher than the previous trading day.
The price for gold that is 99.99 percent pure or above went up 0.7 yuan from the previous trading day to 608 yuan.
Chinese yuan strengthens to 7.1934 against USD Thursday
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 1 pip to 7.1934 against the U.S. dollar Thursday, 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 central bank conducts reverse repos Thursday
China's central bank conducted 470.1 billion yuan (about 65.35 billion U.S. dollars) of seven-day reverse repos at an interest rate of 1.5 percent Thursday.
The move aims to keep liquidity in the banking system adequate at a reasonable level, the central bank said.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closes 0.53 pct lower
Hong Kong stock market ended lower on Thursday with the benchmark Hang Seng Index down 0.53 percent to close at 19,601.11 points.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 0.79 percent to end at 7,034.89 points, and the Hang Seng Tech Index slid 1.24 percent to 4,358.15 points.
AT THE END OF TODAY'S SHARING, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR DAILY FUTURES:
Cotton futures closed higher Thursday in daytime trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE).
The most active cotton contract for January 2025 delivery gained 70 yuan (about 9.73 U.S. dollars) to close at 13,975 yuan per tonne.
On Thursday, the total trading volume for six listed cotton futures contracts on the ZCE was 277,036.0 lots with a turnover of 19.35 billion yuan.
Sugar futures closed higher Thursday in daytime trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange.
The most active sugar contract for January 2025 delivery gained 76 yuan (10.57 U.S. dollars) to close at 5,971 yuan per tonne.
On Thursday, the total trading volume for six listed sugar futures contracts on the ZCE was 378,310.0 lots with a turnover of 22.44 billion yuan.
Iron ore futures closed higher on Thursday in daytime trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE).
The most active iron ore contract for January 2025 delivery gained 3 yuan (about 42 U.S. cents) to close at 777.5 yuan per tonne.
On Thursday, the total trading volume of 12 listed iron ore futures contracts on the exchange was 318,809 lots, with a turnover of about 24.73 billion yuan.
No.1 soybean futures closed lower on Thursday in daytime trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange.
The most active No.1 soybean contract for January 2025 delivery dipped 1 yuan (about 14 U.S. cents) to close at 3,888 yuan per tonne.
On Thursday, the total trading volume of six listed No.1 soybean futures contracts on the exchange was 88,773 lots, with a turnover of about 3.46 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.