Daily Times

Immigration authorities across China handled nearly 65.07 million exits and entries in the first quarter of the year, a year-on-year increase of 116.2 percent, the National Immigration Administration (NIA) said Wednesday. Of the total, 32.35 million were made by Chinese mainland residents, 29.49 million by Chinese residents in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and 3.23 million by foreign nationals. As China started managing COVID-19 as a Class B infectious disease on Jan. 8, the NIA accordingly adjusted its policies and measures to meet the growing demand for entry and exit trips and ensure the smooth operation of the country’s ports. The NIA also stepped up the crackdown on criminal cases jeopardizing the country’s national border and frontier management. In Q1, the administration handled 6,968 such cases, busting 510 criminal gangs and capturing over 10,000 suspects. Power generation from industrial enterprises, each with an annual main business turnover of at least 20 million yuan (about 2.91 million U.S. dollars) in China, rose 5.1 percent year on year in March, an official said on Wednesday. In the period, the total power generation of the above-mentioned enterprises reached 717.3 billion kilowatt-hours, Meng Wei, spokesperson of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a press conference. Thermal power generation expanded 9.1 percent year on year in March, and nuclear power output increased by 4.6 percent from a year ago, said Meng. Solar power generation rose 13.9 percent year on year last month, while wind power output edged up 0.2 percent, she said. In the first quarter of the year, total power generation rose 2.4 percent year on year to 2.07 trillion kilowatt-hours, Meng said. Meanwhile, China is planning to take more actions to invigorate consumption recovery, an official with the country’s top economic planner said Wednesday. China’s consumer market got off to a good start in the first quarter of the year (Q1), laying a solid foundation for the whole year’s consumption recovery and expansion, Meng Wei, spokesperson for the National Development and Reform Commission, told a press conference. China is drawing up related documents with a focus on stabilizing bulk consumption, improving services consumption, and expanding consumption in rural areas to bolster the recovery trend, Meng said. To stimulate auto consumption, the country will expedite the building of battery charging facilities and parking facilities in cities, and promote new energy vehicles in rural areas, according to the spokesperson. Efforts will be made to enhance personal income and foster a favorable environment to improve consumer sentiment, Meng added. Previous data showed that China’s retail sales gained momentum in Q1, up 5.8 percent year on year. Final consumption contributed 66.6 percent to overall GDP growth in Q1.