Makingheadlines

Nation’s largest trade fair opens

The 123rd session of China’s largest trade fair opened on Sunday in Guangzhou, capital of South China’s Guangdong Province, attracting more than 25,000 companies as exhibitors.

The biannual China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, is considered a barometer of China’s foreign trade.

The fair has three phases. The first phase, which focuses on electronics, runs from Sunday to Thursday. The second phase, which exhibits daily consumption goods, will run from April 23-27. The third phase will be held from May 1-5, focusing on office supplies and shoes.

Q1 economic data from NBS

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is scheduled to release the country’s key economic data for first quarter of 2018 on Tuesday, including GDP, industrial added value and fixed-asset investment.

In the fourth quarter of 2017, GDP grew at a fasterthan-expected rate of 6.8 percent, signaling healthy growth momentum. This performance also helped the country post its first annual acceleration in economic growth in seven years.

Economists estimated that GDP grew 6.8 percent in the first quarter, chinanews.com reported over the weekend.

Lian Ping, an economist at Bank of Communications, was quoted in the report as saying that consumption will still be the main driver of China’s economy this year.

Housing prices for March

The NBS scheduled to release data on housing prices in 70 major cities for March on Wednesday.

China’s property market showed signs of slowing down in February, as fewer cities reported growth compared with the number in January, the NBS data showed.

Average new home prices in the 70 cities rose 0.2 percent in February from January, compared with a gain of 0.3 percent in January. Among the 70 cities, 44 posted price gains in February, compared with 52 cities in January, according to the NBS data.