Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.

大家好，我是主持人李莹亮。

Coming up on today’s program.

重点提要 

• China's foreign trade’s declines narrowed in August;

• Major lenders lower rates on existing first-home loans.

Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours 

中国经济要闻

China's imports and exports reached 27.08 trillion yuan during the first eight months of 2023, down 0.1 percent year-on-year, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC) on Thursday.

Between January and August, the country's exports grew by 0.8 percent year-on-year to reach 15.47 trillion yuan, while imports were down 1.3 percent year-on-year to 11.61 trillion yuan, latest customs data showed.

In August alone, the country's foreign trade declined 2.5 percent from one year earlier, but expanded 3.9 percent from the previous month, the data showed.

The country's exports shrank 3.2 percent year on year last month, while imports went down 1.6 percent, with the pace of declines both easing compared with those registered in July.

In the first eight months, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) remained China's largest trade partner. China's trade with ASEAN countries rose 1.6 percent year-on-year and accounted for 15.2 percent of the country's total trade value. However, the figure in August fell by 13.25 percent compared to a year earlier, marking the fourth consecutive monthly decline.

China's trade with the EU fell 1.5 percent from a year earlier, while its trade with the US declined 8.7 percent year-on-year during the January-August period. Its trade with countries along the Belt and Road rose 3.6 percent year-on-year.

A breakdown of the data showed China's exports of machinery and electronic products, which accounted for 58 percent of total exports, increased 3.6 percent during the period, with the export value of automobiles surging 104.4 percent from one year earlier.

世界经济复苏乏力，我国外贸继续承受压力。不过在负增长的大趋势下，8月单月数据出现了好转迹象，进出口环比数据均呈现正增长。

据海关统计，今年前8个月，我国进出口总值27.08万亿元人民币，同比（下同）微降0.1%。其中，出口15.47万亿元，增长0.8%；进口11.61万亿元，下降1.3%；贸易顺差3.86万亿元，扩大7.3%。

从单月数据来看，今年8月份，我国进出口3.59万亿元，同比下降2.5%，环比增长3.9%。其中，出口同比下降3.2%，环比增长1.2%；进口同比下降1.6%，环比增长7.6%；贸易顺差收窄8.2%。

海关总署统计分析司司长吕大良表示，今年前8个月，我国进出口同比基本持平。8月份近3.6万亿元的进出口规模较7月份增长3.9%，较2020—2022年同期均值增长8.2%，这一规模，从今年月度和历史同期数据看，都是第二高点，我国外贸运行总体平稳。

值得注意的是，在全球经贸增长乏力背景下，我国机电领域动能充沛。前8个月，出口机电产品8.97万亿元，同比增长3.6%，占同期我国出口总值的58%。其中，汽车及零配件、船舶、电工器材出口分别增长50.1%、28%、18.6%。

从出口目的地看，我国对第一大贸易伙伴东盟的出口保持增长，自欧盟、美国进口呈现增长。

前8个月，我国与东盟贸易总值增长1.6%，其中，出口增长2.8%，进口增长0.03%，贸易顺差扩大10.3%。对比前7个月的增幅，前8个月的进出口、出口和进口均分别收窄了1.2、1.9和0.17个百分点。

欧盟作为我国第二大贸易伙伴，前8个月双边贸易总值下降1.5%，其中，出口下降4.4%；进口增长4.3%，贸易顺差收窄13.4%。和前7个月相比，降幅有所扩大。美国作为我国第三大贸易伙伴，前8个月双边贸易总值下降8.7%，其中，出口下降11.7%，进口增长1.6%，贸易顺差收窄17.4%。相较前7个月，进出口、出口降幅分别收窄了0.9、1.3个百分点，进口增幅微缩0.4个百分点。同期，我国与日本贸易总值降幅继续扩大，进出口、出口和进口分别下降6.8%、2.4%和10.7%。另外，我国对“一带一路”共建国家合计进出口12.62万亿元，增长3.6%。其中，出口增长9.4%，进口下降2.9%。

• The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway is a successful example of developing countries in the region working together towards modernization, visiting Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Wednesday when inspecting the China-Indonesia cooperation project. Li took a test ride Wednesday on Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway, which begins operation today. The railway connects two Indonesian cities as part of China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative. Li rode the train from Halim station in eastern Jakarta to the next station in West Java’s Karawang city, a 40-kilometer distance that took about 11 minutes. The railway will begin commercial operations on Oct. 1 and will cut travel time between the two cities from the current three and a half hours to about 40 minutes, according to China National Railway Group today.

• 李强考察中印尼合作项目雅万高铁：当地时间9月6日下午，正在印度尼西亚访问的国务院总理李强考察了中印尼合作项目雅万高铁。印尼对华合作牵头人、统筹部长卢胡特，交通部长布迪陪同考察。李强随后试乘雅万高铁并考察了卡拉旺站站台建设情况。雅万高铁连接印尼首都雅加达和第四大城市万隆，全长142公里，设计最高时速350公里，雅万高铁建成通车后，雅加达到万隆两地间最快旅行时间由3.5小时压缩至40分钟。中国国家铁路集团有限公司今日宣布，雅万高铁开通运行。10月初，雅万高铁将正式售票开始商业运营。这标志着印尼迈入高铁时代，中印尼共建“一带一路”取得重大标志性成果。

Greater Bay Area, Greater future

新使命，大未来

• The Hong Kong Science Park on Thursday opened its new branch in Futian, Shenzhen, in a move to turn the area into a hub for innovation and technology in line with the country’s plan. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said the new Shenzhen branch will accelerate the development of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperative Zone. Peter Mok, head of the Greater Bay Area division of the Hong Kong Science Park, said the new branch has welcomed 16 companies, and around 30 to 40 enterprises are expected to join in the next two to three months, and to reach around 50 by the year end.

• 香港科技园深圳分园开园：9月7日，香港科学园深圳分园正式开园，首批16家香港企业机构组团入驻。这是香港科学园在内地设立的首个分园，是内地首个由港方运营、适用国际管理规则的科研空间，是河套合作区内首个享受深港两地联合评审、联合支持独特政策的科创园区，标志着深港科技创新合作迈入新阶段。香港科技园公司大湾区发展总监莫伟轩表示，目前已有16间创科公司进驻深圳分园，未来两、三个月会有30至40间公司进驻深圳分园，预料年底将增至约50多间。

Next on industry and company news

产业及公司新闻

• China’s cyber security regulator imposed a 50 million yuan fine on the country’s largest academic database for violations in handling personal information. The operators of China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and 14 related apps violated the principles of collecting only necessary personal information with consent, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said Wednesday. It also failed to disclose rules of collection and use of information to users, to provide the function of account cancellation, and to delete users’ personal information after account cancellation, the CAC said.

• 知网被罚5000万元：9月6日，根据网络安全审查结论及发现的问题和移送的线索，国家互联网信息办公室依法对知网（CNKI）涉嫌违法处理个人信息行为进行立案调查。经查实，知网（CNKI）主要运营主体运营的手机知网、知网阅读等14款App存在违反必要原则收集个人信息、未经同意收集个人信息、未公开或未明示收集使用规则、未提供账号注销功能、在用户注销账号后未及时删除用户个人信息等违法行为。国家互联网信息办公室对知网（CNKI）依法作出网络安全审查相关行政处罚的决定，责令停止违法处理个人信息行为，并处人民币5000万元罚款。

• China's internet giant Tencent said that it will unveil an artificial intelligence chatbot today. The Shenzhen-based company published a post on WeChat yesterday to drum up hype for a two-day summit. The post featured a demo conversation a user had with an AI chatbot, which helped the user write promotional materials. The company also added a new mini program named HunyuanAide to WeChat, although it remained inaccessible to the public as of yesterday.

• 腾讯AI聊天机器预计今日发布：腾讯文档2023年度新品发布会于9月7日举行，届时将分享腾讯文档发展方向并发布全新产品。9月6日，腾讯云官方预热了自家的AI聊天机器人，该聊天机器人可以帮助用户写文案。腾讯将在9月初举行的2023年腾讯全球数字生态大会上正式发布“混元大模型”，但并未提及是否面向公众开放。

• China's first 5,000-meter-deep high-temperature geothermal scientific exploration well, built and operated by Sinopec, has begun drilling in Haikou, capital of Hainan province. The drilling of the exploration well will help find the formation mechanism and potential of geothermal resources in the surrounding area, lead the development of geothermal resources exploration and development technology at middle and deep layer levels, and enable the large-scale development of geothermal resources in dry hot rocks, Sinopec said.

• 我国最深地热科学探井开钻：7日中国石化消息，中国石化首口地热科学探井福深热1井在海口开钻。该科学探井是我国第一口5000米深度的深层高温地热探井，有助于探明海口及周边地区地热资源形成机理和资源潜力，引领我国中深层地热资源勘探开发技术走向世界前列。

• US-based new energy vehicle (NEV) producer Tesla celebrated a milestone on Wednesday as its Shanghai Gigafactory produced its 2 millionth vehicle. It took 33 months for the Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory to reach its first "1 million vehicles" milestone, but it only took 13 months to progress from "1 million" to "2 million."

• 特斯拉上海工厂200万辆车下线：9月6日，特斯拉宣布上海超级工厂第200万辆整车下线。特斯拉上海超级工厂首次完成100万辆整车下线的目标，用时33个月。而这一次特斯拉上海超级工厂从100万辆到200万辆整车下线，仅用了短短13个月的时间，按平均来算的话，特斯拉上海超级工厂生产一辆特斯拉仅不足40S的时间。

• Xiaomi kicked off trial car production less than a month ago, media reported Wednesday, citing a source close to the Chinese tech giant’s auto business. During the trial production phase, Xiaomi will turn out about 50 vehicles each week, the report said. Xiaomi is hiring staff for its auto workshops in China’s capital city, planning to take on about 100 people, and has very strict experience requirements, according to a recruitment firm working for Xiaomi Auto, the report said.

• 消息称小米汽车已试生产：9月6日媒体报道称，据一位接近小米汽车的知情人士透露，小米汽车现在正处于试生产阶段，这项工作开展不足一个月。目前小米每周生产大约50辆样车，夜间工人很少。另有报道称，小米自建的汽车工厂小米汽车亦庄工厂目前正在大规模地招聘车间工人，招聘规模在100人上下，据透露，该工厂对正式员工的招聘标准非常严格，没有相关经验者几乎无法应聘成功。

• CATL, the world's biggest maker of electric vehicle batteries, further reinforced its commanding position in the global market for electric vehicle batteries in January to July, swelling its market share to almost 37 percent, after use of its EV batteries surged 54 percent from a year ago to 132.9 gigawatt-hours, figures published by South Korea’s SNE Research showed. BYD, a Chinese EV and battery giant, ranked second with a battery loading volume of 58.1 GWh, a 94 percent surge. Its market share rose to 16 percent from 12.3 percent last year. The combined market share of the six Chinese companies in the top 10 list was 63 percent.

• 前7月全球电池装车中企超六成：9月5日，韩国研究机构SNE Research发布最新动力电池统计数据。1—7月，全球动力电池装车量362.9GWH，同比增长49.2%。中国六家电池企业入名前十，并且以62.9%的整体市占率在全球动力电池市场占据绝对优势。宁德时代装车量达132.9 GWh，超过前十强中所有外企装车量之和，市占率为36.6%，仍旧位居榜首。比亚迪今年1-7月装车量为58.1 GWh，同比增长94%，市占率为16%，位列全球第二。

Switching gears to financial news

金融市场消息

• Four of China's major state banks said on Thursday they will start to lower interest rates on existing mortgages for first-home loans, reducing them to levels in place when a home was purchased. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC), China Construction Bank Corp, Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of China issued separate statements announcing the planned reduction. The adjustment will come into effect on Sept. 25, they said. Currently, the national floor of first-home loans stands at 20 basis points below the benchmark lending rate 5-year loan prime rate(LPR) - currently 4.2 percent.  

• 四大行降低首次住房贷款抵押利率：9月7日，中国工商银行、中国农业银行、中国银行、中国建设银行先后发布关于存量首套个人住房贷款利率调整的公告。自2023年9月25日起，将与存量个人住房贷款客户就贷款执行利率进行协商调整。发放的第一批存量首套个人住房贷款，利率水平调整至全国首套房贷利率政策下限，即原贷款合同期限对应的LPR减20个基点，目前为4.2%。

• Seventeen of the 42 listed Chinese banks have lowered the salaries of their employees in the first half of the year, six more than in the same period last year. The biggest monthly salary decline was implemented at Bank of Shanghai, as the average income of its staffers fell 22.5 percent to 35,700 yuan, according to financial data platform Wind. China Merchants Bank was the highest-paying lender in the first half, granting employees an average monthly salary of 53,600 yuan, down 2.4 percent from the same period last year. The 42 listed Chinese banks spent 466.2 billion yuan in salaries in the first half, an increase of 3.4 percent from a year earlier, which was nearly half of the rise in the same period last year.

• 多家上市银行陷入降薪潮：9月5日消息，2023年上半年上市银行财报显示，今年上半年，42家上市银行薪酬总额为4661.57亿元，与去年同期相比增长3.37%，增幅与2022年上半年相比几乎收窄了一半。Wind数据显示，在42家上市银行中，已有17家银行上半年人均薪酬负增长，相比去年同期的11家，又增加了6家。其中，上海银行上半年人均薪酬下滑了22.54%，至3.57万元，下滑幅度最大。其中，招商银行以月薪5.36万元，在薪酬榜排名第一，同比下滑2.44%。

Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market

股市收盘情况

• Chinese stocks finished well down on Thursday with the benchmark Shanghai Composite falling 1.1 percent, and the Shenzhen Component dropped 1.8 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 1.3 percent and the TECH index sank 2 percent.

• A股走低港股收跌：周四大盘全天低开低走，三大指数均跌超1%。截至收盘，沪指跌1.13%，深成指跌1.84%，创业板指跌2.11%。沪深两市全天成交额7668亿元，较上个交易日缩量45亿。北向资金全天净卖出70.72亿元。港股恒生指数收跌1.34%，恒生科技指数收跌2.04%。

Biz Word of the Day

财经词汇划重点

• Geothermal resources encompass a variety of thermal energy sources that rely on heat stored beneath the Earth’s surface. There are three types of geothermal resources: shallow, hydrothermal, and dry hot rock. Geothermal resources are a clean, renewable, and reliable energy source, making them an advantageous replacement for fossil fuels.

• 地热资源是指能够经济的被人类所利用的地球内部的地热能、地热流体及其有用组分，是一种可再生的能源，具有清洁、环保、利用系数高等特点。我国地热资源可分为浅层地热能资源、水热型地热资源和干热岩资源三种类型。

Executive Editor: Sonia YU

Editor: LI Yanxia

Host: Stephanie LI

Writer: Stephanie LI 

Sound Editor: DINGYue 

Graphic Designer: ZHENG Wenjing, LIAO Yuanni

Produced by 21st Century Business Herald Dept. of Overseas News.

Presented by SFC

编委:  于晓娜

策划、编辑：李艳霞 

播音：李莹亮

撰稿：李莹亮，实习生黄青衣、丁越

音频制作：丁越

设计：郑文静、廖苑妮

21世纪经济报道海外部 制作

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