The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released an update to its World Economic Outlook report on the 16th, projecting China's economy to grow by 5% in 2024.

The update noted that global economic activity and world trade strengthened somewhat at the start of this year. Export growth in Asia, particularly the region's strong performance in the technology sector, provided impetus for trade growth.

According to IMF projections, the global economic growth forecast for 2024 remains unchanged at 3.2%. The report raised this year's growth forecast for emerging markets and developing economies to 4.3%. However, among advanced economies, growth forecasts for Japan and the United States were revised downward this year, with U.S. growth cut to 2.6%, reflecting slower-than-expected economic growth and slowing domestic consumption. IMF Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said that emerging Asian economies such as China remain the main engines of the global economy. In addition, Gourinchas said that the continued rise in U.S. debt as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) undoubtedly poses a potential risk to its own economy and to the global economy.

Major national projects showcase "new-driven momentum"

In the first half of this year, a series of major national heavy equipment items made their debut, and a number of mega-projects advanced steadily, demonstrating the hard-core strength of China's manufacturing sector.

On the 17th, an offshore oil and gas platform with a total weight of about 30,000 tonnes, independently designed and built by China, was installed in place at the Xijiang Oilfield in the Pearl River Mouth Basin, marking an important breakthrough in China's capability to independently build offshore oil and gas equipment. It is understood that the Xijiang Oilfield is located 150 to 175 kilometers southeast of Shenzhen. Over the 30 years since it went into production, it has produced more than 100 million cubic meters of crude oil. Once the Xijiang 30-2B platform is officially put into operation, it will push the oilfield's annual output past 3 million tonnes, injecting new momentum into the energy supply of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

In addition, since the beginning of this year, the offshore wind power industry has successfully entered the era of large megawatt turbines; the core equipment of the world's largest "artificial sun" has been installed; the delivery date of China's second domestically built large cruise ship has been set; and the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link, the world's most comprehensive cross-sea cluster project integrating "bridges, islands, tunnels and underwater interconnections," has officially opened to traffic. It is precisely these super-projects that demonstrate the strength of China's manufacturing sector as a major country and drive large equipment manufacturing enterprises to keep innovating and making breakthroughs. Among them, transporting the enormous components essential to the construction of these major national heavy equipment items—components that are bulky and often weigh thousands or tens of thousands of tonnes—relies on special transport vehicles capable of carrying ten-thousand-tonne-class cargoes.

　　Wang Zhiguo, Deputy Chief Designer of Hubei Sanjiang Aerospace Wanshan Special Vehicle Co., Ltd.:Dozens of vehicle units can be assembled together, achieving transport capacity of several thousand to tens of thousands of tonnes.

This special transport vehicle is not only large in size but also has an especially large number of tires, and it is highly flexible. Its individual unit modules can be combined and assembled front-to-back and left-to-right according to changes in the weight and length of the cargo being carried, with a maximum carrying capacity of 50,000 tonnes. It has already been widely used in engineering fields such as equipment manufacturing, petrochemicals and shipbuilding.

　　CCTV reporter Song Wan:This is the first-generation self-propelled modular transporter produced by the company, and its width is three meters. Next to it is the fourth-generation self-propelled modular vehicle independently developed by the company, with a width of 2.43 meters. Although it is smaller in size, the weight it can carry has been upgraded.

　Urban renewal showcases "renewed vitality"

At present, China's urban development has entered an important period of urban renewal. Localities are exploring implementation plans with distinctive urban characteristics in light of local conditions. How can renewed cities bring renewed lives?

Old factory areas have been transformed into popular internet-famous destinations, old neighborhoods have become consumption hubs, and pocket parks and shared green spaces can be seen everywhere. Behind all these changes is one term—"urban renewal."

The reporter learned from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development on the 17th that more than 66,000 urban renewal projects have been implemented nationwide, with completed investment of 2.6 trillion yuan. Among them, in the area of renovating and utilizing existing buildings, 7.8 billion square meters of buildings have been renovated so far, further improving building safety and energy efficiency. In the area of renovating old urban residential communities, 53,700 old urban residential communities were newly renovated last year, and 36,000 elevators were installed.

In the first five months of this year, 22,600 old urban residential communities nationwide have already begun renovation. In addition, more than 2,900 complete community construction projects have been implemented nationwide, more than 3,500 facilities for the elderly and young children have been precisely supplemented, more than 2,600 old factory areas and old commercial districts have been renewed and renovated, and nearly 15,000 medical, sports, educational and cultural facilities have been built and renovated.

　　Wang Ke, Deputy Director of the Department of Building Energy Conservation and Science and Technology of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development:Next, we will accelerate top-level design and improve, at the national level, the objectives and tasks of urban renewal, institutional innovation measures and related safeguard measures. We will focus on establishing systems and mechanisms such as urban physical examinations, improving urban renewal planning and innovating urban design. Through urban physical examinations, we will identify the urgent difficulties and anxieties of the people in urban life and make these issues the priorities of urban renewal.

　　Historical and cultural blocks and buildings "keep the skin and change the core"

This area in Huangpu, Shanghai, is one of the largest shikumen lane neighborhoods in the central urban area and is adjacent to the site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China. The area contains 13 cultural relics, including the former residence of Ba Jin and the former site of the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts. Local authorities have come up with many ways to give old buildings new vitality in the process of urban renewal.

These days, some buildings in this area are undergoing wall repairs, using a technical concept vividly called "keep the skin and change the core." Simply put, the building facades are preserved intact, and then appropriate conservation and restoration measures are combined to restore the elegance of the historic buildings. At the same time, the internal spatial structure is flexibly adjusted so that it can meet the needs of modern life.

　　Liu Huiming, General Commander of the Shanghai Jianguo East Road Historical Features Preservation and Urban Renewal Project:In order to preserve the texture of the old neighborhood, we not only conducted 3D scanning of the existing buildings but also obtained original drawings from a century ago from the urban construction archives to restore the neighborhood and reproduce its appearance to the greatest extent possible.

At present, the "Historical Features Charm Reshaping Action" has been included in Shanghai's urban renewal action plan. By next year, Shanghai plans to complete more than three projects involving historical features preservation areas, preservation blocks and preservation roads, advance more than three demonstration projects for the protection, repair, renewal and utilization of historic towns, and create more than 15 demonstration projects for the protection, repair and adaptive reuse of historic buildings. Not only Shanghai, but also many cities such as Beijing, Nanjing, Fuzhou, Jinan, Chengdu and Suzhou are now stimulating the inherent vitality and contemporary appeal of historical and cultural heritage through means such as "functional renewal and facility upgrading."

Summer cultural tourism is highly "attractive"

The arrival of the summer vacation has brought multiple benefits to the consumer market. The film and cultural performance markets are booming, and graduation trips, family trips and leisure summer retreat trips are also heating up, with the vitality of the summer economy continuing to be released.

Data from China State Railway Group show that from July 1 to 15, railways nationwide carried a total of 211 million passenger trips, up 6.5% year on year, with an average of 14.034 million passenger trips per day.

　　The tourism market is booming

Technology empowers with abundant vitality

This summer vacation, more and more museums and art galleries are breaking away from the traditional method of displaying physical objects plus pictures and using various cutting-edge digital technologies to bring audiences a brand-new viewing experience. At the "Return to Sanxingdui—Fantasy Journey to the Ancient Shu Kingdom VR Immersive Experience Exhibition" at the Sichuan Museum, visitors only need to put on VR headsets to instantly travel back more than 3,000 years to the ancient Sanxingdui kingdom.

Visitor Mr. Bi:I felt as if I were in the scene of the ancient Sanxingdui kingdom. It was very stunning.

In addition, the reporter learned from the China Association of Performing Arts that performance projects featuring folk customs, intangible cultural heritage skills and opera performances were also deeply loved by tourists this summer. In the first half of 2024, the number of performances of large and medium-sized tourism performance projects nationwide increased by 26.37% year on year. "Immersive" and "promenade" live-action performances were staged in succession and reached a peak of attendance during the summer vacation.

　　Tourist Ding Ling:The performance of "Pipa Xing" stunned me. Especially when the music started, I was immediately immersed in it.

　　The visa-free "circle of friends" continues to expand

Inbound tourism continues to heat up

With the continuous expansion of China's visa-free "circle of friends" and the continuous optimization of entry-exit policies and measures, popular domestic attractions are welcoming large numbers of foreign tourists.

In the first half of this year, the number of entry-exit passengers at Xiamen port continued to climb. A total of more than 2.32 million entry-exit passenger trips were inspected, up nearly 90% year on year. Cross-border study tour groups, family trips, visits to relatives and friends, and graduation trips have combined to gradually become growth drivers of entry-exit passenger flows during the summer vacation. Since the beginning of this year, more than 200,000 foreign nationals have entered China through Xiamen port, and more than 17,000 passengers have completed "144/24-hour visa-free transit for foreign nationals" procedures, up threefold and 1.6-fold year on year respectively.

Hainan Province is the only province in China that enjoys a 59-country visa-free entry policy for the entire province. Over the six years since the policy was implemented, more than 1.02 million foreign tourist trips have entered Hainan visa-free, accounting for more than 82% of the total number of inbound foreign tourist trips.

　　Russian tourist:This is my first time in Sanya. The most important thing is to experience the moisture of the seaside. I want to travel around China properly. The visa-free policy makes it very convenient for us to travel.

In the first half of this year, Hainan received 538,000 inbound tourist trips, up 5.1-fold year on year; among them, more than 154,000 foreign tourist trips were visa-free entries, up 12.3-fold year on year, further stimulating foreigners' enthusiasm for visiting Hainan.