(File photo taken on Oct. 20, 2010 shows the workshop of a fiber optic cable factory in Donghu High-tech Development Zone in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province. Xinhua/Cheng Min)
Hi, here's what you need to know about China.
BEIJING -- China's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) reported growing net profits for 2016, despite slowing growth in the world's second largest economy.
Average net profits of 1,598 SMEs listed on the National Equities Exchange and Quotations system reached 21.05 million yuan (3.05 million U.S. dollars) last year, up 26.29 percent year on year.
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SHANGHAI -- A fund for assisting the medical treatment of patients with rare disease was initiated in Shanghai Sunday.
The fund with starting money of 3 million yuan (435,000 U.S. dollars) was jointly raised by rare disease prevention and treatment institutions in Shanghai and drug firms such as Sanofi.
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VIENTIANE -- China was the largest foreign investor in Laos in 2016, according to an annual report by Lao Ministry of Planning and Investment on Sunday.
China's investment to Laos soared to over 1 billion U.S. dollars in 2016 compared to 88.9 million U.S. dollars in 2015. Most of the investments were focused on the hydropower, mining and agriculture sectors.
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VIENTIANE -- A traditional music teacher from the National School of Arts of Laos will begin a performance tour in China to spread Lao arts and culture under the China-ASEAN cultural project in May.
Sinthavong Sengmeuangthong, who teaches at a school in Lao capital Vientiane, was quoted by Lao state-run media Vientiane Times on Sunday as saying that he was proud to be a Lao representative showcasing his skill and talent by performing traditional music and exchanging culture within Asia.
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DUBAI -- The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX), the sole international derivatives market for commodities and currencies in the Middle East in relation to regulatory standards, launched here on Sunday the Shanghai Gold Futures Contract, the first of its kind outside China.
Following the signing of a deal between the DGCX and the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) in October 2016 during the promotional "Dubai Week in China," the listing of the Shanghai Gold Futures Contract "marks the first-ever usage of the Shanghai Gold Benchmark Price in international markets," said Gaurang Desai, Chief Executive Officer of the DGCX, when he briefed the media earlier today on the sidelines of the ongoing Dubai Precious Metals Conference.
