Job promotion

THE government will take targeted steps to promote employment, according to a State Council meeting.

“The current domestic and international situation is complicated and the employment pressure is still big,” the State Council was quoted as saying. The government will give priority to supporting small and private firms vital for job creation and will provide loan guarantees to startups, the State Council said. It will refund half of unemployment insurance premiums to some firms facing difficulties from Jan. 1. An existing policy of implementing a 1-percent ratio on unemployment insurance premiums is to be extended after the end of April next year.

Boeing plant

BOEING Co. will start operations at its 737 completion plant in China next month and Air China will take delivery of the first plane produced, the U.S. planemaker said.

Boeing invested US$33 million last year in a joint venture with the Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China to oversee the plant, taking a majority stake. The plant, in the eastern city of Zhoushan, will install interiors and paint liveries. Boeing China President John Bruns said that the factory will deliver only one aircraft in 2018 and then gradually increase output until it hits a delivery target of 100 planes a year.

Tesla production

TESLA Inc. said that it is developing plans to start producing about 3,000 Model 3 vehicles per week in Shanghai in the initial phase of its Gigafactory 3 to reduce the impact of tariffs.

The company also said that Model S and Model X sales in China have been, and will likely continue to be, hurt by recently increased tariffs. The electric car maker said it continues to push to increase Model 3 production to about 10,000 units per week.