India and ASEAN have been tipped to benefit from China's struggle to keep foreign direct investors (FDIs) in the country, according to the China-ASEAN Business Council Chinese Secretariat.

China's trade growth surged in January but much of the increase was driven by the traditional Lunar New Year holiday.

China's inflation eased in January ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday but vegetable prices spiked higher amid unusually cold weather, data showed Friday.

China's auto sales rose 46 percent in January to a monthly record on strong demand for SUVs in pre-Lunar New Year shopping, an industry group reported Friday.

German automaker Daimler unveiled plans Friday to boost its position in the fast-growing Chinese market by acquiring for 640 million euros a 12-percent stake in the country's fifth-biggest car group.

China said Friday it had approved British bank HSBC's sale of its stake in insurance giant Ping An to a Thai conglomerate for US$9.4 billion, ending speculation that the deal was on the verge of collapse.

China's house price increases picked up pace in January on the back of a recovery in the overall economy and signs of looser policy controls, an independent survey showed Friday.

Manufacturing activity in China expanded in January, two separate surveys showed Friday, but they differed on whether the recovery was slowing or accelerating.

Manufacturing activity across Asia expanded in January as the global economy slowly picks up, a widely watched barometer showed Friday, but moderations in China and India suggested recovery remains tentative.

The combined profits of China's major steelmakers crashed by more than 98 percent in 2012 as growth in the economy of the world's largest steel producer slowed, an industry group said.