We open with a look at the Chinese economy. China's statistics bureau said Friday that the nation's economy maintained stable and steady growth in August. Strong retail sales and better-than-expected industrial output were largely responsible. Sun Tianyuan reports.

China enjoyed a positive economic performance for August.

The National Bureau of Statistics says China saw a 6.1 percent growth in total value added to industrial enterprises. That's a 0.1 percent boost from July.

Major growth was seen in new industrial products. From January to August, production of new energy vehicles and industrial robots grew by 56 and 19.4 percent respectively. Meanwhile, fixed-asset investment, a key economic driver for China, rose slightly, up 0.44 percent from July.

MAO SHENGYONG, SPOKESMAN NATIONAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS "FAI growth has been declining in recent months. The government plans to launch more projects. And it is expected that fixed-asset investment growth will stabilize, but a rebound will be difficult to come by."

Elsewhere, import and export growth accelerated, with the trade surplus narrowing substantially.

The total value of incoming and outgoing goods reached over 2.7 trillion yuan in August. That is a 12.7 percent increase.

Mao says, despite the ongoing trade tensions, foreign trade remained stable.

MAO SHENGYONG, SPOKESMAN NATIONAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS "Chinese industries have been making adjustments to cope with the trade tension's impact. However, the influence on the economy is limited and not obvious. Yet trade protectionism did create uncertainties for both China and the US. Moreover, it has cast a shadow on the fragile global economic recovery. The government will closely watch the latest situation while adjusting its policies."

Mao adds that China must be fully aware of the more severe and complex environment abroad, as well as structural contradictions that might accumulate over time at home. STY, CGTN, BEIJING.