China's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow by about 7.5 percent annually in the next five years, said Ma Kai, Minister of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), on Monday.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)'s weekly average crude oil prices dropped slightly by 0.52 dollars to 54.76 U.S. dollars per barrel last week, the cartel's secretariat said on Monday.

The Chinese government will accelerate the use of desalinated seawater during the 11th Five-Year Plan period (2006-2010), the State Development and Reform Commission (SDRC) has told Xinhua.

Information industry, investment, transportation, energy and tourism will be the major sectors in future economic cooperation between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), experts said.

Insurance companies have become the second largest institutional investment sector in China's securities market after the commercial banks after just eight years of trading.

World oil prices fell nearly 4 percent on Monday, as the largest oil field in U.S. returned to full production and traders' concern on oil demand eased.

China's Civil Aviation University has signed an agreement with Airbus, the European aircraft maker, on a three-year program to train Chinese maintenance technicians.

China can expect to see imported iron ore prices leveling off next year as steel production remains stable and iron ore output grows steadily, according to a senior industry official.

The National Railways of Zimbabwe has received 11,000 pieces of rail imported from China under a 10 million U.S. dollars deal expected to help upgrade some parts of Zimbabwe's outdated rail network, The Herald reported on Monday.

China, the world's second biggest energy user, has reached a US$25 billion agreement to buy LNG (liquefied natural gas) from Malaysia over 25 years to meet rising demand.