Advanced smart factories on the rise

China has built more than 7,000 advanced smart factories and become the world's largest intelligent manufacturing application base, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Through sector-specific measures and a gradient cultivation approach, China has also established over 500 excellence-level smart factories.

Yuan weakens against greenback

The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, weakened 10 pips to 7.0789 against the US dollar on Friday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.