IN BRIEF

Transport projects to cost $377 billion

China will spend at least 2.6 trillion yuan ($377.7 billion; 358.6 billion euros; 307.7 billion) on transport infrastructure projects this year, data from the Transport Ministry showed on Feb 27. That will include 800 billion yuan on railways, 1.65 trillion on roads and 150 billion on waterway transport, Minister of Transport Li Xiaopeng told a news conference. Li said that during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20), 15 trillion yuan would be channeled to transport infrastructure projects, including 3.5 trillion on railways, 7.8 trillion on roads and 500 billion on waterway transport.

Forex derivatives market opens

China opened its foreign exchange derivatives market to overseas non-central bank institutional investors on Feb 27. The investors are allowed to trade forward and trade forex swaps and options over the counter with banks, according to a circular released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. Access was granted in light of the increased presence of overseas institutional investors, who held bonds worth 870 billion yuan ($126 billion; 120 billion euros; 103 billion) by the end of 2016, the forex authority said.

Walmart to open new stores on mainland

Walmart will open up to 40 new branches on the Chinese mainland this year, while upgrading 50 outlets and improving stocking and logistics, the company announced on Mar 1. Walmart opened 24 new outlets in China last year and now operates more than 400 stores across the country. Overall sales in China grew 5.4 percent year on year from last November to January, the latest financial statement showed. Last year was the best financial performance in almost five years.

Tracking system aims to make toys safer

China, the world's biggest toy producer and exporter, is building a nationwide tracking system that will verify the safety and quality of products. A ceremony was held in Beijing on Feb 26 marking the launch of the system. Yang Dayue, a quality inspection expert, said the system would not only help track the origin of a toy and hold its producer accountable in case of a problem, but would also help toy manufacturers improve quality control through the use of big data.

Central bank drains 40b yuan from market

China's central bank drained 40 billion yuan ($5.82 billion; 5.52 billion; 4.73 billion) from the market on Feb 28. This was the first day that the People's Bank of China had drained liquidity from the market after injected money for five consecutive days. On Feb 23, the central bank conducted 20 billion yuan in seven-day reverse repos, 20 billion yuan in 14-day reverse repos and 10 billion yuan in 28-day reverse repos.

More international routes planned

Air China said it will launch more international routes this year, better linking China with Europe and North America, to meet rising demand for outbound tourism. From May this year, the airline will launch five new international routes including flights between Beijing and Zurich, Shanghai and Barcelona, and Shenzhen and Los Angeles. Thanks to relaxed visa policies and rising disposable income, the number of China's outbound tourists has continued to grow over the past decade. During this year's Spring Festival peak travel period, Chinese people made 6.15 million overseas trips, up 7 percent from last year.

Banking sector's total assets up

The value of assets held by China's banking sector rose 14.4 percent to 228 trillion yuan ($33.2 trillion; 31.5 trillion euros; 27 trillion) as of the end of January compared with a year earlier, the China Banking Regulatory Commission said on its website on Feb 27. The value of liabilities rose 14.6 percent to 210.5 trillion yuan, it said.

Faster rail link fromKazakhstan launched

A freight train left a major logistics center on Feb 25 in the northwestern Chinese city of Urumqi for Kazakhstan's Almaty on a new route. Carrying auto parts, clothing and household goods, the train crossed the Sino-Kazakh border at Horgos in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region instead of Alataw Pass on the old route. The travel time between Urumqi and Almaty has been shortened by almost 25 percent to 30 hours.

Foreign service trade deficit narrows

China's foreign service trade deficit narrowed in January while surplus in goods trade widened, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said on Feb 27. The deficit stood at $20.9 billion in January, down from $26.1 billion in December, SAFE data showed. Income from trade in services was $21.8 billion, while expenditure totaled $42.6 billion. Trade in services refers to the sale and delivery of intangible products such as transport, tourism, telecommunications, construction, advertising, computing and accounting. China regularly holds a deficit in service trade as its service sector is less competitive than some other economies.

China to eclipse US' in business travel market

China is expected to overtake the United States to become the world's biggest business travel market in 2017, the country's leading online travel agency said on Mar 1. Spending on business travel in China hit $290 billion last year and will grow by at least 10 percent this year, according to a report from Ctrip Corporate Travel, a subsidiary of Ctrip. Small and medium-sized Chinese companies will become a major source of business travel growth, spending a potential 100 billion yuan ($14.56 billion; 13.8 billion euros; 11.85 billion), said Fang Jiqin, chief executive officer of Ctrip Corporate Travel.

Boeing eyes booming air delivery market

Boeing is upbeat about the Chinese market and is designing products and services to meet the demands of the growing e-commerce sector, according to a Boeing executive.

"In emerging markets, led by China, we've seen huge demand for freighters from e-commerce and express delivery entities," said Anbessie Yitbarek, Boeing vice-president of Customer Support for Asia Pacific. "The Northeast Asia region is the fastest growing e-commerce trading bloc, with China at the front."

Changan Ford opens fifth factory

The first Ford Focus rolled off a production line in northeastern China's Heilongjiang province on March 1. The factory, in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang, has an annual production capacity of 200,000 and is Changan Ford's fifth in the country. Together with the factory, 11 automobile component plants have opened in Harbin. The new Ford Focus was launched in 2015 and last year sales of the vehicle neared 220,000 units in China. The other four factories of Changan Ford have a combined production capacity of 1.4 million units.