3.18 billion yuan

China's major large- and mid-sized steel enterprises suffered losses totalling 3.18 billion yuan ($503 million) in the first eight months of the year, according to a report carried in Friday's Economic Information.

2.6 trillion yuan

China's tourism revenues are expected to reach 2.6 trillion yuan ($412.7 billion) in 2012, up 16.6 percent year on year, the nation's top tourism think tank said Friday.

69.6 billion yuan

China has set aside 69.6 billion yuan ($11 billion) from the central budget to pay for subsistence allowances to be given to needy rural and urban families next year, the Ministry of Finance said Friday.

40th anniversary

A reception was held in Beijing Thursday evening to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of China-Germany diplomatic relations.

540,000 officials

More than 540,000 officials at the grassroots level have been punished for discipline violations over the last five years, according to the country's anti-graft agencies Thursday.

13,800 Chinese Muslims

The first of two remaining charter flights carrying Chinese Muslims heading to the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia for an annual pilgrimage left Beijing on Thursday morning. The flights mark the last phase of a government-organized pilgrimage tour that will help a total of 13,800 Chinese Muslims visit the holy city this year.

12 people dead

Twelve people have been confirmed dead and 24 injured in fire at a construction site Wednesday in Northwest China's Shaanxi province, local authorities said.

23 electric cars

A total of 23 electric cars will be used among 11 state organs in a pilot program to promote new-energy vehicles for official use, according to a statement from the Ministry of Science and Technology (MST) on Tuesday.

10,000 jobs

Increasing Chinese investment in the United States has created more than 10,000 jobs for Americans, according to a study report released by the Asia Society Tuesday.

26.66 million CPC members

The Communist Party of China (CPC) recruited more than 26.66 million members from 2002 to 2011, a figure almost equal to the size of the population of Venezuela, according to the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee.

2020

China will gain itself a position among "upper-middle income" economies by World Bank standards by 2020, an economics expert predicted Tuesday.

85 million travelers

The number of travelers taking to China's highways totaled 85 million by 4 pm on Sunday, the first day of the eight-day "Golden Week" holiday. The figure is 13.3 percent more than the equivalent period last year, according to an announcement from the Ministry of Transport.