Briefly

Nation becomes EU's biggest trading partner

China displaced the United States to become the top trading partner of the European Union during the first seven months of the year, according to data from European statistics agency Eurostat. EU's imports from China increased by 4.9 percent on a yearly basis in the January-July period, whereas its imports from the US dropped by 11.7 percent. The bloc's exports to China recorded a slight drop of 1.8 percent, while those to the US fell by 9.9 percent.

Bosch and Weichai lift diesel engine efficiency

German engineering and technology company Bosch and Chinese engine manufacturer Weichai Power increased the efficiency of Weichai diesel engines for heavy commercial vehicles from 46 percent to 50 percent."In increasing the efficiency by four percentage points, we have jointly reached a new milestone. Even though the diesel engine is nearly 130 years old, its development continues," said Volkmar Denner, chairman of the board of management of Bosch. The six-cylinder diesel engine by Weichai with a 12.9-liter displacement was equipped with Bosch's modular common rail system for commercial vehicles.

Xinhua