China's Shandong sees growing trade with RCEP members

East China's Shandong Province's trade with members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) expanded 20.9 percent year on year to 257.26 billion yuan (about 39.26 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of 2022, said the Jinan Customs in the provincial capital.

Over the period, exports between Shandong and RCEP members grew 23.5 percent to 147.62 billion yuan while imports rose 17.6 percent to 109.64 billion yuan, the customs said.

The Republic of Korea, Japan, and Malaysia are the top three RCEP trading partners of Shandong, whose trade with Shandong accounts for 61 percent of the province's total trade with RCEP members.

Over the period, Shandong's imports and exports to those countries totaled 63.1 billion yuan, 47.03 billion yuan, and 46.83 billion yuan respectively, up 13 percent, 18.3 percent, and 65 percent.

A total of 24,000 certificates of origin under RCEP were also issued by authorities in the province.

Tesla reported another banner quarter of profit growth Wednesday on pricier vehicles and said its 2022 output plan was on track despite ongoing supply chain problems and a hit from recent Covid-19 lockdown measures in China.

Elon Musk's high-flying electric vehicle company notched a new record in quarterly profits of $3.3 billion following the unveiling of new factories in Germany and the US state of Texas that have begun commercial deliveries.

Headwinds facing the company include increasing raw material costs, as well as a weeks-long outage at the Shanghai plant following the

Chinese government's latest Covid-19 restrictions.

"Our own factories have been running below capacity for several quarters as supply chain became the main limiting factor, which is likely to continue through the rest of 2022," Tesla said in its earnings press release.

Still Musk said it "seems likely" the company will produce more than one and a half million vehicles in 2022, which would be above the company's long-term target of at least 50pc output growth.

"We are growing very rapidly year over year and remain confident of exceeding 50 percent growth fore forseeable future," Musk said on a conference call with investors and analysts. "The future is very exciting."

But the Model 3 Tesla currently lists for a starting price of $42,690, putting it beyond reach for many households. Musk, who has long spoken of the need to make electric vehicles affordable for the masses to combat climate change, insisted "we absolutely want to make EVs as affordable as possible."

"It's been very difficult when inflation is at a 40-or 50-year high" said Musk, who noted how suppliers have sought 20 to 30 percent price increases for parts.

For the latest quarter, Tesla reported profits of $3.3 billion, up 658 percent from the year-ago period on an 81 percent jump in revenues to $18.8 billion.

The company produced 305,407 autos in the period, slightly below the level in the prior quarter, but enough to push output above one million over the last 12 months.

Chief Financial Officer Zach Kirkhorn said Tesla's Shanghai plant "lost about a month of built volume" due to the lockdown, but that manufacturing "is resuming at limited levels working to get back to full production as quickly as possible."