According to The New York Times, "China's central bank joined on Wednesday an ever-lengthening list of central banks that have eased monetary policy as falling oil prices have reduced the risk of inflation while weak global demand has led to slower economic growth. The bank said it had reduced the share of assets that commercial banks must hold as reserves, freeing them to lend more and providing a potential stimulus to economic growth. The People's Bank of China decision came as two sectors strongly affected by monetary policy - real estate and heavy industry like steel production - have become the two biggest brakes on the country's economy." 

Reuters writes, "Chinese steel mills, already struggling with weakening demand, are facing higher costs and the risk of punishment as a result of tougher environmental legislation that came into effect this year, industry officials said on Wednesday. Nearly three-quarters of China's steel enterprises do not meet environmental standards, and they are under heavy pressure to upgrade, according to estimates by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA). Compliance costs have risen at least around 50 percent, according to some estimates...The steel sector, the world's biggest, has been a primary target of a campaign to clean up China's air, especially in the country's smoggiest province of Hebei, which surrounds the capital Beijing and is home to hundreds of private mills long accustomed to a light regulatory touch." 

"Chinese and Argentine leaders on Wednesday signed a batch of agreements, including collaboration on two new nuclear power plants, as Beijing is strengthening its relations with the South American country. On a state visit to China, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and the two countries signed 15 agreements covering travel visas, information technology, media, energy, space technology and financing...two nuclear plants would be built in Argentina with transfer of technology from China, calling the move a 'gateway for the deepening of this strategic relationship.' China also is helping Argentina build infrastructure such as dams and railways. Beijing recently helped Buenos Aires stabilize its peso with a currency swap as Argentina struggles to shore up its foreign reserves," reports The New York Times.