BEIJING -- China has seen a rapid increase in loans extended to clean energy, environmental protection and other green sectors in the first half of this year (H1) as the country puts more emphasis on green development, central bank data showed.

Outstanding green loans in yuan and foreign currencies reached 11.01 trillion yuan (about 1.58 trillion U.S. dollars) by the end of H1, up 10.8 percent from the beginning of the year, according to the People's Bank of China. (China-Green Loans-Central Bank)

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BEIJING -- Huawei overtook Samsung in global smartphone shipments in the second quarter of 2020, marking the first time in nine years that a company other than Samsung or Apple has led the market, according to the latest report from global technology market analyst firm Canalys.

Huawei shipped 55.8 million devices during the April-June period, down 5 percent year on year, followed by Samsung, which shipped 53.7 million smartphones, said the report. (China-Huawei-Shipment)

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BEIJING -- China's investment in oil and gas exploration set a record high of 82.13 billion yuan (about 11.76 billion U.S. dollars) in 2019, up 29 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources.

National exploitation of oil and gas saw a total investment of 252.71 billion yuan last year, rising 24.4 percent from the previous year, the ministry said in a report on its website. (China-Oil-Production)

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WASHINGTON -- Fitch Ratings, a U.S. credit rating agency, said Friday that it has lowered the country's economic outlook to "negative" from "stable" due to high budget deficits, but kept its overall rating at the highest "AAA" level.

The downgrade is due to the ongoing deterioration in the U.S. public finances and the absence of a credible fiscal consolidation plan amid the COVID-19 pandemic, said Fitch Ratings in a statement. (US-Fitch-Credit Outlook).