EV charging facilities see rapid expansion

China's electric vehicle charging infrastructure has maintained rapid growth, with the total number of facilities reaching nearly 17.35 million units by the end of August, up 53.5 percent from a year earlier, official data showed. Public EV charging facilities stood at about 4.32 million units, an increase of 37.8 percent year-on-year. Their combined rated power hit 196 million kilowatts, according to the National Energy Administration. Private charging facilities expanded at an even faster pace, jumping 59.6 percent year-on-year to 13.03 million units, the administration said. The robust growth in charging infrastructure is in line with the steady expansion of China's new energy vehicle market. From January to August, both production and sales of NEVs posted double-digit increases.

Yuan weakens against greenback

The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, weakened 43 pips to 7.1128 against the US dollar on Friday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day. The central parity rate of the yuan against the US dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day.

Xinhua - China Daily