EARLIER THAN EXPECTED: A rail link in Qinghai Province connecting Xining, the provincial capital, and Gomud City will be completed by the end of 2010, 21 months ahead of schedule. The segment is part of the Qinghai-Tibet railway and will be able to transport 50 million tons of goods annually (NI SHUBIN)

Numbers of the Week

534 billion

China's centrally administered state-owned enterprises reported combined profits of 543 billion yuan ($80 billion) in the first six months of this year, up 61.6 percent from one year ago, said the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.

25.2 million

China's third-generation (3G) mobile phone service subscribers reached 25.2 million at the end of June, said the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.