Beijing, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) — China’s industrial sector revenue posted sustained growth in July, as indicated by an increase in the issuance of value-added tax (VAT) invoices, the State Administration of Taxation said Monday.
In that month, tax data showed a 6 percent year-on-year growth in sales revenue of industrial companies nationwide, up 1.7 percentage points from the second quarter, according to the administration.
Specifically, these revenues for the mining sector rebounded last month, expanding by 9.7 percent due to the increase in the prices of bulk raw materials.
Growth in the manufacturing sector was 5.7 percent, driven mainly by raw materials processing and equipment manufacturing.
Sales revenue from power generation and supply rose 5.6 percent in July as China entered its peak electricity consumption season.
From January to July, the number of new business entities paying taxes increased by 7.3 percent compared to a year ago, according to the same source.
China welcomes more foreign tourists Xinhua
Foreign tourist visits increase
The number of foreign visitors to China rose 129.9 percent year on year in the first seven months of this year to 17.25 million, thanks to a series of measures to facilitate the entry of foreigners, the National Immigration Administration said Monday.
Visitors from abroad are estimated to boost consumption to 100 billion yuan ($14 billion), with average daily per capita consumption volume reaching nearly 3,500 yuan, Liu Haitao, deputy head of the administration, told a news conference.
From January to July, 846,000 port visas were issued to foreign citizens who urgently need to enter China but did not have enough time to apply for visas at Chinese embassies or consulates abroad, Liu said. The figure represents a year-on-year increase of 183 percent.
As for port visas, foreigners can submit applications in advance to the respective authorities by themselves or through persons or entities that invite them to the country, or apply for them “in situ” upon arrival at the ports, according to the entity.
In the first seven months of this year, China recorded a total of 341 million cross-border trips, up 62.34 percent from the same period last year, Liu added.
