OPEN TO TRAFFIC: The Gaolan-Badong section of the 172.65-km Yichang-Badong Expressway in central China's Hubei Province, is put into use on June 1 (YANG SHUNPI)

Non-Stop Flight

Air China has begun offering non-stop flights between Beijing and Washington, D.C. four times a week from June 10 in the latest move to expand its network in the United States.

The flight, operated with Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, is scheduled to leave Beijing at 1:00 p.m. (Beijing time) and arrive at 2:35 p.m. (Washington time) on the same day. The return flight is expected to depart at 4:35 p.m. and arrive at Beijing Capital International Airport at 6:15 p.m. the next day.

The flight number for the Beijing-Washington service will be CA817/818.

The United States is a popular travel destination for increasingly affluent Chinese tourists. China is expected to be the top tourist source market for the United States in 2018 with the number of visiting Chinese hitting 4.7 million, according to predictions from the U.S. official tourism and marketing organization Brand USA.

Offshore Gold Trading

Offshore gold contracts denominated in yuan will be traded in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ)

later this year, top officials of the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) said on June 4.

The People's Bank of China, the central bank, in May gave the green light for setting up an "international board" for gold trading at the Shanghai FTZ.

SGE officials indicated that the plan to accept offshore yuan-denominated investments will speed up the Chinese currency's internationalization process and make the Chinese bullion market more accessible to overseas investors.

SGE is the world's largest physical gold exchange and handles most of the gold transactions that take place in China.

The central bank statement indicated that the various categories of gold being traded at the SGE will also be made available on the international board.

SGE officials said that most of the preparations are in place and the bourse remained confident of starting trading at the FTZ by the end of the year.

They also said that registration of the Shanghai Gold International Exchange, technical preparations and recruitment of international members will be completed by the end of the third quarter.

Financial Reform

The government of south China's Guangdong Province said on June 4 that it will deepen financial reforms and encourage more private capital into the financial market.

Social capital and provincial enterprises will be supported in participating in the capital increase, as well as share expansion and restructuring of such local financial institutions as rural and urban commercial banks or rural credit cooperatives, said a document issued by the Guangdong Provincial Government.

The province plans to push forward integrated and innovative development of financing, science and technology and manufacturing.

Financial services for small businesses will be improved and innovative online financing will be promoted, the document added.

By the end of 2013, the added value of the financial industry had accounted for 6.1 percent of Guangdong's GDP, said Liu Wentong, head of the financial work office of the provincial government.

That is forecast to reach 9 percent for Guangdong in 2020, said Liu.

Guangdong, a forerunner of China's reform and opening-up policies more than 30 years ago, has vowed to further reforms in order to maintain its important role in the country's economy.