With growth resilient and progress made in the pursuit of high-quality development, economic confidence remains positive in China.In the second quarter, business confidence among Chinese entrepreneurs continued to improve, according to a central bank survey. The entrepreneur confidence index climbed for the ninth straight quarter, rising to 75.8 from 74.2 in the first quarter.The business climate index for Q2 held steady at 58.5 percent, 3.9 percentage points higher than the same period last year, the central bank said.Optimism has spread among officials and economists."China has the conditions and capability to fulfill the annual target set at the beginning of the year and ensure the stable and long-term growth of the economy," said a National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) official.

KIRKENES, Norway, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Envisioning a new port on the Barents Sea coast and a railway that goes all the way southward to the Baltic Sea, Norway's Arctic town of Kirkenes sets its sight on a major European hub on a Polar Silk Road with link to China. Finland and Norway announced on Friday plans to explore building an Arctic railway between Finland's northern city of Rovaniemi and Norway's ice-free port of Kirkenes. This agreement came after Norway plans to develop new harbor and terminal areas near Kirkenes, a town in the Sor-Varanger municipality in Norway's northeastern county of Finnmark.

WASHINGTON, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and American scientists have found a new way to identify non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC), the most common type of lung cancer, non-invasively. In a study reported on Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine, the scientists used a radio-labeled chemical tracer to mark certain cancer mutations, which can help determine sensitivity to and the efficacy of a therapy called tyrosine kinase inhibition in NSCLC patients. NSCLC with those mutations can be best treated with drugs called tyrosine kinase inhibitors. The inhibitors can extend median survival time of cancer patients with a mutation in the epidermal growth factor receptor or EGFR protein to greater than two years, more than twice the survival of patients receiving only chemotherapy.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- From economic growth, financial risks, currency internationalization to the Belt and Road Initiative, China was frequently mentioned by financial officials at the just-concluded annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. As the world's second-largest economy, China's economic growth, the development of its financial markets, and its agenda of opening up and reform will have a major impact on the global economy and financial markets.
STRONG GROWTH WITH REFORMS

LANCASTER, the United States, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese carmaker BYD unveiled Friday its expanded battery-electric bus manufacturing facility, North America's largest, in the U.S. city of Lancaster in southern California. BYD, which stands for "Build Your Dreams," is also the world's largest manufacturer of rechargeable batteries. The company's electric bus, supported by its solar panels, LED lighting and energy-efficient technologies, is able to run over 248 kilometers after a single charge, which is among the longest in the world. This expansion is an addition of a new wing to the current BYD Coach and Bus space, bringing the total manufacturing facility to nearly

The US government shutdown and the debt ceiling crisis have increased global concerns regarding the impact of the dysfunctional US political system on the international financial system, in particular, and the global economy more generally.

BEIJING, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has announced it will invest 150 million U.S. dollars in the International Finance Corporation (IFC)'s Emerging Asia Fund to address the infrastructure gap in Asia.

Recreating History
China has launched a new initiative to build a “Maritime Silk Route” linking the Pacific and Indian oceans. It was first proposed by President Xi Jinping during a visit to Indonesia in October 2013. Furthermore, Premier Li Keqiang has announced the establishment of a Yuan 3 billion ($500 million) maritime cooperation fund to promote this initiative.

The Communist Party of China, which at one time sent tremors throughout the capitalist world particularly the Western countries, has just introduced another dramatic package of home-grown market-oriented reforms. In fact, the outcomes of the Third Plenary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party offer important insights for Sri Lanka. The Pathfinder Foundation (PF) is focusing on these reforms to convey the message that they offer considerable scope for being customized to reflect the specific conditions of the Sri Lankan economy. In considering these reforms, it is important to take into account the political and social characteristics of Sri Lanka. The level of ambition of the reforms that have just been announced by the Chinese authorities has surprised almost all commentators. Some skeptics claim that the actual implementation of the reforms will fall short of what is promised due to resistance from vested interests and/or a lack of political will. This is unlikely, particularly as President Xi Jinping has personally taken charge of the mechanisms that have been established to oversee these economic reforms. He will lead the group on “Comprehensive Deepening of Reforms” which has been tasked with implementing the planned changes. It is very unlikely that President Xi will compromise or back down now that he has staked his personal authority behind these reforms.

The US government shutdown and the debt ceiling crisis have increased global concerns regarding the impact of the dysfunctional US political system on the international financial system, in particular, and the global economy more generally. There is an increasingly-held view that US Treasuries are no longer “riskless assets” as the second debt ceiling crisis in just two years has now raised the spectre of possible US government default. This raises concerns about the US dollar’s position as the unrivalled global reserve currency. Several world leaders have expressed.

China’s Steadfast Friendship
Sino-Lankan relations are on the threshold of a transformative leap forward. Contacts between Sri Lanka and the Middle Kingdom go back several centuries to the visits by the monk/scholar Fa Hsien and the impressive naval fleet of Admiral Zheng He. In the post-colonial era, the historic Rubber-Rice Pact (1952) was the landmark that initiated the very cordial relations that have prevailed between the two countries during the subsequent decades. China has been a steadfast friend which has played a very important role in protecting the unity and territorial integrity of the country.