March 17 Macroeconomic Index:China's economy showed positive signs in the first quarter, and the China-Russia-Iran meeting focused on the lifting of sanctions; internationally, there were new developments in the US budget and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

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Domestic News

1. A number of high-frequency indicators showed positive signals, and China's economic "heat" rose in the first quarter

2. Joint Statement of the Beijing Meeting among China, Russia, and Iran

3. From January to February this year, the national railway passenger flow hit a record high, reaching 738 million passengers

4. Foreign trade has achieved a "good start", and Liaoning's export scale hit a record high in the first two months of this year

5. State Administration of Financial Regulation: Encourage the increase in the allocation of personal consumption loans

 International News

1. The risk of a U.S. government shutdown has dropped over the weekend, and Schumer has accepted draft interim budget by the Republican Party

2. Russian media revealed: Putin and US special envoy talked until 1:30 a.m. After the meeting, the two sides were silent

3. Iran's natural gas may be "cut off" by the United States, and Iraq is considering buying gas from other countries

4. Attack on the oil facility in Krasnodar Krai, Russia

5. Russia expressed its support for the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire proposal, but many details still need to be discussed, Zelensky: Russia is delaying

Domestic News

1. A number of high-frequency indicators showed positive signals, and China's economic "heat" rose in the first quarter

In February, the monthly operating rate of the main products of construction machinery was 44.6%, an increase of 12.3 percentage points year-on-year. In March, China's retail sentiment index was 50.2%, up 0.1 percentage points from the previous month. In late February, the average daily crude steel production of key steel enterprises increased by 5.0% month-on-month...... Recent data from a number of high-frequency indicators and leading indicators showed that the "heat" of the economy is rising and the vitality continued to be released. According to expert analysis, in the first quarter of this year, the macro economy will continue the positive trend at the end of last year. Investment in major infrastructure projects will be accelerated, domestic consumption potential will be released, and the resilience of the manufacturing industry will be highlighted, and the foundation for economic stabilization and recovery will be further consolidated.

2. Joint Statement of the Beijing Meeting among China, Russia, and Iran

On March 14, 2025, the China-Russia-Iran meeting in Beijing was successfully held. The meeting in Beijing was chaired by Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu of the People's Republic of China, and attended by Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Ryabkov and Deputy Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran Gharibabadi. China, Russia and Iran had an in-depth exchange of views on nuclear issues and the lifting of sanctions. The three countries stressed the need to end all illegal unilateral sanctions.

3. From January to February this year, the national railway passenger flow hit a record high, reaching 738 million passengers

In the first two months of this year, the country's railways sent 738 million passengers, a year-on-year increase of 6.4%, and the number of passengers hit a record high in the same period in history. During the Spring Festival, the flow of students, workers, relatives and tourists was superimposed and intertwined, and the railway passenger flow remained high. From January to February, EMUs sent 544 million passengers, accounting for 73.8% of the country's railway passenger traffic, a year-on-year increase of 5.9%; The national railway passenger turnover reached 289.752 billion person-kilometers, a year-on-year increase of 2.9%, of which the EMU passenger turnover was 192.347 billion person-kilometers, a year-on-year increase of 4.5%.

4. Foreign trade has achieved a "good start", and Liaoning's export scale hit a record high in the first two months of this year

According to the statistics of Shenyang Customs, in the first two months of this year, the total import and export value of foreign trade in Liaoning Province reached 116.7 billion yuan, an increase of 6.2% compared with the same period last year (the same below), achieving a "good start". Among them, exports were 62.24 billion yuan, an increase of 16.2%, and the export scale hit a new high in the same period in history; Imports were 54.46 billion yuan, and the trade surplus was 7.78 billion yuan.

5. State Administration of Financial Regulation: Encourage the increase in the allocation of personal consumption loans

The State Administration of Financial Supervision issued a notice requiring financial institutions to develop consumer finance to help boost consumption. Under the premise of controllable risks, banking financial institutions are encouraged to increase the delivery of personal consumption loans, reasonably set the amount, term and interest rate of consumer loans, and optimize the allocation of resources. Improve the due diligence exemption requirements for personal consumption loans. Under the premise of effective identity verification and controllable risks, explore the online opening and activation of credit card business.

International News

1. The risk of a U.S. government shutdown has dropped over the weekend, and Schumer has accepted draft interim budget by the Republican Party

Schumer, the leader of the US Senate Democrats, spoke about the draft interim spending during the plenary session of the Senate: "There is no other choice. Bringing the government to a halt would be worse than the Republican expedient spending bill. I will vote for the government to continue to function, not to shut it down. The shutdown would mean full discretion for Trump and Musk. The speech meant that Schumer had given up his stance of blocking the Republican draft budget.

2. Russian media revealed: Putin and US special envoy talked until 1:30 a.m. After the meeting, the two sides were silent

On March 14, local time, Russian media reported information about the closed-door talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. Special Envoy in the Kremlin. According to the report, the closed-door meeting ended at 1:30 a.m. local time on the 14th. Neither Russia nor the United States disclosed the details, course or outcome of the meeting. Before leaving Moscow, the Special Envoy stayed at the U.S. Embassy for an hour and delivered a complimentary speech in English. His plane left Moscow in the early hours of the 14th. Meanwhile, Putin left the Kremlin at around half past two in the morning.

3. Iran's natural gas may be "cut off" by the United States, and Iraq is considering buying gas from other countries

Following U.S. threats to "cut off" Iranian gas exports entirely, Iraqi Ministry of Electricity official Saad Jassem said on March 13 that Iraq was "preparing for the worst-case scenario" and was considering importing gas from sources outside Iran.

4. Attack on the oil facility in Krasnodar Krai, Russia

Kondratiev, the head of the Krasnodar Administration of Russia, said that in the early morning of the 14th local time, Ukraine attacked the oil facility in Tuapse, causing a fire in a tank storing gasoline, with a fire area of more than 1,000 square meters, and emergency rescue services are fighting the fire at the scene. According to preliminary information, there were no casualties as a result of the incident.

5. Russia expressed its support for the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire proposal, but many details still need to be discussed, Zelensky: Russia is delaying

On March 13, local time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an evening video speech that it can be seen from the current statement of Russian President Putin that Russia has set a number of preconditions for the ceasefire proposal, and the Ukrainian side believes that this is Russia's manipulation method. Zelensky said that Ukraine accepted the US ceasefire proposal, the US side can organize control and verification, and the United States and Europe have the ability to guarantee the implementation of the ceasefire proposal. During the ceasefire, the Ukrainian side is ready to seek answers to long-term security and peace and develop a plan to end the conflict. Zelensky stressed that the Ukrainian side will not set conditions that complicate the ceasefire process, but the Russian side is dragging its feet and can not achieve any fruitful results.

Domestic Macro Economy Index