BEIJING, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The following are the highlights of China's business news from the past week:
BRI
China's investment in Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries has exceeded 100 billion U.S. dollars so far, while China has received 48 billion dollars of investment from those countries, Qian Keming, vice minister of commerce, said at a press conference.
From 2013 to 2018, trade between China and BRI countries surpassed 6 trillion dollars, official data showed.
PMI
The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector firmed up to 49.8 in September from 49.5 in August, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Monday.
A breakdown of the data showed manufacturing production and market demand both saw expansion, NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe said.
NON-FERROUS METALS
The total output of China's 10 major non-ferrous metals reached 38.63 million tonnes in the January-August period, up 4.6 percent year on year, 0.8 percentage points faster than a year ago, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.
Output of copper reached 6.15 million tonnes, up 5.8 percent year on year. The country's lead production expanded 18.8 percent to 3.96 million tonnes.
CHINA UNIONPAY
Chinese card payment giant China UnionPay extended its services to 176 countries and regions.
Merchants in countries including Bosnia and Herzegovina and Chile began to accept UnionPay cards for the first time, the company said in a statement.
The Shanghai-based financial service provider, now accepted by over 28 million merchants around the globe, has so far issued over 120 million cards in 57 foreign countries and regions, including Bahrain and Madagascar.
