SHIPPING BOOM: Ocean vessels are anchored at the Lianyungang Port, Jiangsu Province. Cargo throughput of the port totaled 40.05 million tons in the first quarter of 2011, up 21.5 percent year on year (WANG CHUN)

Numbers of the Week

$548.9 billion

China's outstanding external debt amounted to $548.9 billion at the end of 2010, said the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

34.48 billion yuan

Sales revenues of the national program to subsidize farmers' purchase of home appliances surged 179 percent year on year to reach 34.48 billion yuan ($5.26 billion) in March, said the Ministry of Commerce.