China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, increased by 1.5 percent in January from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced today.

Despite the impact of the international financial crisis, Shandong province registered "significant achievements in economic development, with a steady uptrend in major economic indicators", Governor Jiang Daming said at the third session of the 11th People's Congress in Shandong.

China's auto export in 2009 dropped 46 percent year-on-year due to the global downturn, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) Wednesday.

The volume of China's coal imports more than tripled in 2009 from a year earlier as the country's economic stimulus package boosted demand.

China's Consumer Price Index (CPI), a main inflation index, might climb 3 percent in 2010 year on year, according to a Wednesday report released by the China Construction Bank (CCB).

China exported 1.82 million tons of coal in January, down 50 percent year-on-year, the General Administration of Customs said on Wednesday. The number for exported coke is 40,000 tons, a 53 percent decrease.

China's foreign trade posted a 44.4 percent growth in January 2010 year-on-year, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) announced Wednesday.

Chinese bankcard holders' consumer confidence in January was up year-on-year, according to an index issued jointly by China Unionpay and Xinhua News Agency on Tuesday.

Bank lending may exceed 1.3 trillion yuan in January despite the government-imposed credit clampdown on the potential risk of inflation and asset bubbles, analysts said.

Profit before tax for China's 17 major carmakers surged 68 percent year-on-year in 2009, after negative growth in 2008, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said Tuesday.