HONG KONG, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong Customs, in the capacity of the World Customs Organization (WCO) Vice-Chair for the Asia-Pacific Region, hosted a three-day Regional Conference on Smart Customs from Wednesday to Friday, gathering key global stakeholders to advance digital transformation in customs operations.This inaugural large-scale regional workshop on smart customs brought together over 200 representatives from the WCO, global customs administrations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Secretariat and the innovation and technology sector.In his opening address, Chris Tang Ping-keung, secretary for security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, underscored the vital role of smart customs in supporting the Asia-Pacific region's dynamic trade flows and addressing transnational challenges.Tang highlighted four key pillars of smart customs initiatives in the region, namely data-driven intelligence, digital single-window trade, intelligent inspection, and multilateral connectivity, citing Hong Kong Customs' AI-driven video analytics system WiseShield and Project ValidAP as examples of innovation.He called for harmonized digital standards, a narrower digital divide and stronger public-private cooperation to ensure growth and resilient supply chains.Addressing the opening ceremony, Chan Tsz-tat, commissioner of Customs and Excise of the HKSAR government, outlined Hong Kong Customs' transformative initiatives, including the application of AI, blockchain and big data, and emphasized that the success of smart customs relies on mutual trust, partnership and collaboration.Hong Kong Customs is committed to advancing digitalization of customs practices, strengthening global trade connectivity and building resilient supply chains, he said.Tech firms from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong displayed intelligent patrol robots and smart port community systems at the exhibition booths, drawing strong interest from customs delegates ...

BEIJING, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Friday presided over a State Council executive meeting that approved the State Council's key work division plan for 2026.The meeting emphasized the need to implement the arrangements outlined in the government work report to ensure a sound start to the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).It urged government departments to act with greater initiative and introduce practical and effective policy measures to expedite the implementation of relevant tasks.Efforts should be made to strengthen differentiated guidance for localities, with greater focus on studying new situations and addressing new problems, while encouraging regions to leverage their comparative advantages.The meeting also studied the establishment of a negative list management mechanism for local fiscal subsidies, highlighting the need to further clarify the specific circumstances under which local governments are prohibited from granting such subsidies.It also reviewed and adopted a revised draft of the regulation on the national agricultural census.

BEIJING, March 13 (Xinhua) -- China's yuan-denominated loans rose 5.61 trillion yuan (about 812.96 billion U.S. dollars) in the first two months of the year, central bank data showed on Friday.At the end of February, outstanding yuan loans amounted to 277.52 trillion yuan, up 6 percent year on year, according to the People's Bank of China.The M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, increased by 9 percent year on year to 349.22 trillion yuan by the end of last month.The M1, which covers cash in circulation, demand deposits and client reserves of non-bank payment institutions, stood at 115.93 trillion yuan at the end of February, up 5.9 percent year on year.