China has seen several economic indicators exceeded market expectations in August, demonstrating a recovering macroeconomy, data released by the People's Bank of China showed on Friday.
The central bank said the growth rate of M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, has been relatively stable, with a 6.3 percent year-on-year growth to reach 305.05 trillion yuan (about 43 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of August.
During the period, outstanding yuan loans totaled 252.02 trillion yuan, marking an increase of 8.5 percent year on year.
China's yuan loans rose by 14.43 trillion yuan in the first eight months of the year, according to the bank.
Data showed that the stock of social financing scale at the end of August 2024 increased by 8.1 percent year on year. The increase in social financing scale reached 21.9 trillion yuan in the first eight months.
The weighted average interest rate of new corporate loans in August stood at 3.57 percent, down 28 basis points year on year. And the new individual housing loan interest rate was 3.35 percent, down 78 basis points year on year, according to the central bank.
Financial data shows steady economic growth in August: central bank
A young Northern Irish student has shared the stories of her deep connection to Chinese culture during this year's Mid-Autumn Festival, which landed on Tuesday, highlighting the global reach of the many celebrated Chinese traditions.
In the heart of Belfast, Northern Ireland, Kiva, a second-year economics student at Ulster University, had been busy preparing various activities to celebrate the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival.
One of her top priorities was heading out shopping to buy some mooncakes, which are seen as the most representative specialty food of the festival which centers around family reunions and appreciating the full moon.
"So these are our eight delicious-looking mooncakes. They are beautiful. They're very tiny, keeping you fit," said Kiva, as she proudly showed off the box of her newly-purchased mooncakes.
After wandering around a local Chinese supermarket, she excitedly recounted her journey of learning Chinese and her fascination with the country's rich traditions.
"The most intriguing part for me was the calligraphy. It was definitely the characters. I really, really did love the characters. It was just very, very interesting to see, and to see that and see it made into an art form as well, where calligraphy is used as like a cultural aspect. It was just very, very beautiful and I wish that everybody had more interest in it, and wasn't really put off by how difficult it was," she said.
The difficulty of learning the language did not stop her love of Chinese characters. In her eyes, each character is vibrant and full of life, and she singled out the characters for "flower" and "love" as being her two favorites, saying that their complexity is what makes them beautiful.
Earlier this year, Kiva joined a university-organized trip to China, and was deeply struck by the stark contrasts between the bustling modernity of Beijing and the deep-rooted traditions of the central Hubei Province. However, the highlight of her whole trip was visiting the Great Wall, an experience she had long dreamed of.
"Going to The Great Wall was actually one of the things that I really wanted to do because none of my parents had ever been to China, so it was one of their things that they wanted to do as well, they wanted to see The Great Wall. So I think in the afternoon in China it's like 2 or 3 a.m. here, and I called my dad at at 2 or 3 a.m. in the morning, just because I wanted to show him The Great Wall," said Kiva.
Flipping through old photos, Kiva recalled her first connection with China as a child, when her mother bought her a traditional Chinese qipao gown during a shopping trip. During her recent visit to China, she also sought out another traditional outfit to wear and posed for a photograph to capture the moment.
"I think it's just one of those parts of the culture that you are just not going to get in any other part, like you can always do calligraphy anywhere else, right? You can always learn the language somewhere else, but having the opportunity to try on the traditional dress, when it means so much to the culture and it's people I think is very, very important to me especially," she said.
Northern Irish student shares love of Chinese culture during Mid-Autumn Festival
