TO THE POINT: The National Bureau of Statistics released major economic figures for February on March 11. The bureau's spokesman said the Chinese economy had no signs of overheating. The mainland continued to take the lead in global car sales with domestic brands taking the largest share. The first inland duty-free zone will be built in Chongqing to encourage growth in the upper Yangtze River region. Airline companies worry the rapidly expanding high-speed railways may absorb 60 percent of their market.

By LIU YUNYUN

Numbers of the Week

87.4%

By the end of 2009, the employment rate of college graduates reached 87.4 percent, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said.

2nd Biggest

The total trade volume of Chinese A-share stock markets in Shanghai and henzhen overtook the Tokyo Stock Exchange, second only to the United States.

Major Economic Figures in February 2010

CPI and PPI

The consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge for inflation, grew 2.7 percent year on year in February, nearing the 3-percent threshold dividing inflation and non-inflation.

Producer price index (PPI), a barometer for inflation at the wholesale level, rose 5.4 percent in February compared to last year.

The growth in both index accelerated from that of January.

The CPI has been on the rise since the third quarter of last year. Su Ning, Vice Governor of the People's Bank of China, said the biggest present concern for the government is imported inflation caused by the rapid increase of international commodity prices.

The moderate CPI and PPI growth rates diminished interest rate hike expectations.

Housing Prices

Chinese housing prices continued to rise in defiance of repeated government warnings of an overheating market.

In February, house prices in 70 large and medium-sized cities soared 10.7 percent year on year.

Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Jiang Weixin said the housing prices will keep increasing in the next 20 years because of rapid urbanization and industrialization efforts as well as the shortage of land in urban areas.

Retail Sales

Retail sales in January and February totaled 2.5052 trillion yuan ($300.9 billion), rising 17.9 percent year on year.

Investments in Fixed Assets

China's investments in fixed assets were 1.3 trillion yuan ($190 billion) in the first two months of this year, recording a robust growth rate of 26.6 percent from a year ago. Investments have been a driving force of the economy, making up for the drooping trade front.

(Data source: National Bureau of Statistics)

Loans and Deposit

Newly-added renminbi loans in February stood at 700 billion yuan ($102.48 billion), half that of January's total, according to statistics from the People's Bank of China.