Briefly

Nation's power use up 4.6% in May

China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, rose 4.6 percent in May as the impact of the novel coronavirus waned, data from the National Energy Administration (NEA) showed on Friday. Total power use hit 592.6 billion kWh last month, NEA data showed. Specifically, power use by the first and secondary industries rose 15.5 percent and 2.9 percent year-on-year, respectively, and that by the tertiary industry went up 3.6 percent from the same period a year ago. Residential power consumption surged 15 percent year-on-year to 79.1 billion kWh during the period, said the NEA. In the first five months, the country's power use fell 2.8 percent year-on-year to 2.72 trillion kWh.

Israel's exports to China increase

Israeli exports to China rose 9.8 percent year-on-year during the first five months of 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday. Figures showed that Israeli exports to China totaled $1.91 billion during January-May, compared with $1.74 billion during the same period last year. However, a slight year-on-year decline of about 3 percent was recorded in May, with Israeli exports to China totaling $427 million, compared with $440 million in May 2019.

More of Xinjiang's produce goes out

Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has seen its variety of exported produce continue to increase, with efforts made to improve the quality of its products. From January to May, a total of 31,900 metric tons of fruits and vegetables, of which over 70 percent were produced in Xinjiang, were exported via the Horgos Port. The products are mainly exported to Kazakstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian countries, and as far away as Russia, Belarus and other European countries. At the same time, the variety of produce exported from Xinjiang has become more abundant, from traditional varieties such as apples, grapes, chilies and tomatoes to more than 10 kinds of products such as nectarines, prunes and onions.

Xinhua