China has expanded its free trade zone (FTZ) in Shanghai and established 3 new zones with eased investment rules to speed up reforms amid economic hardship.

China has set a growth target for foreign trade at 6 percent for next year, down from about 7.5 percent in 2014.

Profits of Chinese industrial businesses hit 676.12 billion yuan (110.84 billion U.S. dollars) in November, down 4.2 percent year on year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Dec 27th.

The Renminbi will experience "normal fluctuations" in 2015, experts said on Dec 25th. The yuan will continue to experience depreciation and appreciation next year, said chief economist with the Bank of Communications Lian Ping.

China's real GDP growth will likely slow down from 7.4 percent this year to 7.1 percent in 2015, said economists with the country's central bank.

Economists expect the three-day Central Economic Work Conference that opened in Beijing on Tuesday to focus on preventing downside risks and promising to accelerate the pace of various economic reforms in 2015.

Further easing in consumer inflation and accelerating industrial deflation in November reflect stagnation in the world's second-largest economy, and that may push the central bank to cut banks' required reserve ratios as a means of easing liquidity and stabili...

China's exports rose 4.7 percent year on year to $211.66 billion in November, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said on Dec 8th.