Xi's Back - China's Chip Exports @ RMB 106.3 billion - SCO Members on Development Bank & New SCO Financial & Economic Think Tank Network
Here are the key reports and articles that I found noteworthy from the People’s Daily’s edition on Thursday, June 05, 2025.
Page 1: Well, Xi’s back. The Chinese president has been missing from the public scene for some time. This, of course, fuelled a fair bit of speculation, particularly since we did not get any reporting on a Politburo meeting in May. But Xi Jinping’s back on the front page today. There’s a report on his meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The report says:
Xi congratulated Lukashenko on his re-election as president. He pointed out that “China and Belarus are true friends and good partners. The two sides have always treated each other with sincerity and trust. The traditional friendship between the two countries has stood the test of time, political mutual trust is unbreakable, and cooperation in various fields is comprehensively advancing. The Chinese side has always viewed and developed China-Belarus relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective, and is willing to work together with the Belarusian side to promote the steady and long-term development of bilateral relations and mutually beneficial cooperation. The two sides should further strengthen coordination and cooperation within multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, jointly oppose hegemonic behaviour and bullying, and safeguard international fairness and justice.” 习近平再次祝贺卢卡申科当选连任总统。习近平指出，中国和白俄罗斯是真朋友、好伙伴。双方一直以诚相待、以信相交。两国传统友好历久弥坚，政治互信牢不可破，各领域合作全面推进。中方始终从战略高度和长远角度看待和发展中白关系，愿同白方一道，推动两国关系和互利合作行稳致远。双方要进一步加强在联合国、上海合作组织等多边框架内协调和配合，共同反对霸权霸道霸凌，捍卫国际公平正义.
Another report informs of Xi sending a congratulatory message to Lee Jae-myung on his election as president of South Korea. The report says:
“Xi Jinping pointed out that China and South Korea are important neighbors and cooperative partners of each other. Over the past 33 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations,the two sides have transcended differences in ideology and social systems, moved forward hand in hand and achieved mutual success, realizing a stable and healthy development of bilateral relations. This has not only enhanced the well-being of the two peoples, but also made positive contributions to promoting regional peace, stability, development and prosperity. Xi Jinping stressed that I attach great importance to the development of China-ROK relations. At present, the once-in-a-century changes in the world are evolving at an accelerating pace, and uncertainties are increasing in the international and regional situation. As an important country in the world and the region, China is willing to work with the ROK to adhere to the original intention of establishing diplomatic relations, stay committed to the direction of good-neighbourly friendship, and adhere to the goal of mutual benefit and win-win results, so as to jointly promote the continuous development of the China-ROK strategic cooperative partnership and better benefit the people of the two countries.” 习近平指出，中韩互为重要近邻和合作伙伴。建交33年来，双方超越意识形态和社会制度差异，携手并进、相互成就，实现两国关系平稳健康发展，不仅增进了两国人民福祉，也为促进地区和平稳定和发展繁荣作出积极贡献。习近平强调，我高度重视中韩关系发展。当前，世界百年变局加速演进，国际和地区形势中的不确定因素增多。作为全球和地区重要国家，中方愿同韩方一道，坚守建交初心，坚定睦邻友好方向，坚持互利共赢目标，共同推动中韩战略合作伙伴关系不断向前发展，更好造福两国人民.
Third, there’s a report with data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. It says that from January to April, China’s Internet and related service enterprises above designated size garnered Internet business revenue of 597 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.5%. During the same period, Internet enterprises above designated size invested a total of 29.15 billion yuan in R&D funds, a year-on-year increase of 4.8%. The profit realised was 41.73 billion yuan.
Finally, there’s a report with data from the People’s Bank of China, informing that as of the end of the first quarter of this year, the balance of green loans in RMB and foreign currencies was 40.61 trillion yuan, an increase of 9.6% from the beginning of the year and an increase of 3.56 trillion yuan in the first quarter.
Page 2: Two reports to note. First, data from MIIT show that from January to April, the added value of China’s electronic information manufacturing industry above designated size increased by 11.3% year-on-year.
The output of microcomputer equipment was 105 million units, a year-on-year increase of 4.7%
The output of integrated circuits was 150.9 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5.4%. Among them, China exported 106.3 billion integrated circuits from January to April, a year-on-year increase of 20%
Electronic information manufacturing industry above designated size achieved operating income of 5.12 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.1%, with total profit being 159.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.6%
Next, data from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development informs that from January to April, a total of 5,679 urban old residential communities nationwide began renovation. By region, the construction start rate in six areas, i.e., Hebei, Chongqing, Liaoning, Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Hubei, exceeded 50%. In 2025, it is planned that 25,000 urban old residential communities nationwide will begin renovation. 记者从住房城乡建设部获悉：1至4月，全国新开工改造城镇老旧小区5679个。分地区看，河北、重庆、辽宁、上海、浙江、湖北等6个地区开工率超过50%。2025年，全国计划新开工改造城镇老旧小区2.5万个.
Page 3: There’s a consolidated report on Wang Yi’s meetings with Yohei Kono, president of JAPIT, and Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, special envoy of the president of UAE. Xinhua’s report on the first meeting says:
Wang “expressed great appreciation for Kono’s long-term commitment to the China-Japan friendship and stressed the significance of people-to-people exchanges in the current international situation. Wang said that China has attached importance to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's recent statement that Japan should draw profound lessons from history and refrain from being an aggressive country. Wang noted that history cannot be tampered with, and that only by learning from history can both sides truly open up the future. Kono said that history should not be forgotten, nor should it be denied, and noted that the past cannot be changed but the future can be created through present efforts. JAPIT is willing to continue promoting friendly cooperation between Japan and China, Kono said”.
The second report says:
Wang “said that China-UAE ties have maintained sound development momentum under the strategic guidance of the two countries’ heads of state. China is willing to work with the UAE to provide mutual support on issues concerning each other’s core interests, expand mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, maintain close coordination on international and regional affairs, and promote the in-depth development of the China-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership, Wang said. Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak said the UAE is willing to strengthen its high-level exchanges with China and further advance the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries. The UAE adheres to the one-China principle and will uphold the principles of independence and autonomy in steadfastly promoting cooperation with China, he said.”
Also on the page is a report on the meeting of SCO member states’ finance ministers and central bank chiefs. Xinhua says that member states “support the deepening of regional fiscal and financial cooperation, including working toward the establishment of an SCO development bank”.
“SCO member states supported making substantive progress in promoting the establishment of an SCO development bank and agreed to establish an SCO financial and economic think tank network. They also held discussions on strengthening local currency settlement arrangements and deepening cooperation in digital inclusive finance.”