This is People’s Daily Tonight, your news source from China.
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China lays out timetable for SOE deleveraging
China has published guidelines to strengthen asset and liability constraints on the country's state-owned enterprises.
The guidelines say that the average debt-to-asset ratio of SOEs should be reduced by 2 percentage points by the end of 2020.
After 2020, the debt-to-asset ratio of SOEs should be kept at the average level of companies in the same industry with the same scale.
It added that a clear boundary should be set to separate government debt from corporate deb.
Local governments are banned from borrowing in the form of corporate debt.
China has been stepping up SOE deleveraging as part of its efforts to defuse financial risks. (Xinhua)
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China's retail sales, industrial output up in August
China's economic fundamentals remained sound as indicators such as industrial output and retail sales growth picked up in August and efforts should be made to further promote high-quality development of the Chinese economy, said the official data on Friday.
Retail sales increased by 9 percent year-on-year last month, 0.2 percentage points higher than in July.
The industrial output posted steady growth in the same month, up by 6.1 percent year-on-year and accelerating by 0.1 percentage point over July.
Fixed-asset investment growth eased to 5.3 percent in the January-August period, 0.2 percentage points lower than in the first seven months. (China Daily)
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Urgent preparations as super typhoon closes in on Philippines
Preparations were in high gear in the Philippines with Super Typhoon Mangkhut set to make a direct hit.
Forecasters say the typhoon is packing winds of up to 255 kilometers per hour.
Thousands fled their homes on the Philippines' northern coastal tip ahead of the early Saturday landfall, in what is expected to be the disaster-prone nation's fiercest storm this year.
Businesses and residents on Luzon island were boarding up windows and tying down roofs that could be sheared off by winds. (AFP)
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Beijing, Moscow vow to reinforce military relations, combat abilities
China and Russia vowed to further deepen military ties as they concluded the "Vostok-2018" strategic drills with a military parade on Thursday.
Chinese Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe said the drills reflect China and Russia's confidence and determination to jointly safeguard regional peace and security, and the exercise enhances the two militaries' ability to respond to multiple security threats.
The drills, which began on Tuesday, were the largest of their kind in modern Russia's history. The troops simulated a classic anti-invasion campaign at the training range in eastern Siberia.
Beijing said the drills were not aimed at any third party. (China Daily)
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Koreas open 1st liaison office for better communication
The Koreas on Friday opened their first liaison office near their border to facilitate better communication and exchanges ahead of next week’s summit in Pyongyang.
The office’s opening at the North Korean border town of Kaesong is the latest in a series of reconciliatory steps the Koreas have taken this year.
The office is the first of its kind since the Koreas were divided at the end of World War II in 1945.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet for the third time to discuss denuclearization of the peninsula and other issues. (AP)
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Hurricane Florence likely to affect southeast US energy infrastructure: EIA
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday said that Hurricane Florence is likely to affect energy infrastructure throughout the southeastern region of the United States.
EIA said that as Florence, now a Category 1 storm, will obstruct electricity transmission and distribution, while widespread evacuations and disruptions to normal business operations could impact demand patterns for transportation fuels.
Power outages and flood-related damage to pumps caused by the hurricane will also disrupt pipeline operations, threatening petroleum supplies in this region.
Duke Energy, the major power supplier for North and South Carolina, said that the storm could knock out power for up to 3 million customers across the two states. It could take several weeks to restore electricity. (Xinhua)
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China, France pledge to deepen cooperation
And Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his French counterpart expressed their desire to boost bilateral ties and vowed to work together to safeguard the multilateral trade system and rules of the World Trade Organization.
Wang praised the two countries’ close communication and coordination, especially since President Emmanuel Macron met with President Xi Jinping in Beijing in January.
The two ministers also agreed to encourage exchanges of personnel, and reach a consensus on key international issues. (CGTN)
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And that’s People’s Daily Tonight. Thanks for joining us.
(Produced by David Nye, Chen Lidan and Liang Peiyu)