BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The following are highlights of China's key local business news from the past week.

-- SHANGHAI FTZ EXPANDS

China announced the expanding of its Shanghai free trade zone (FTZ) in its latest major strategic move for further opening-up.

The new Lingang section will match the standard of the most competitive free trade zones worldwide and implement opening-up policies and systems with strong global market competitiveness, according to an overall plan for the new Lingang area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone issued by the State Council.

Lingang, with a start-up area of 119.5 square kilometers, will facilitate overseas investment and capital flows and realize the free flow of goods, according to the plan.

-- BYD STRONG NEV SALES

BYD, China's leading new energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturer, reported annual 73.2-percent growth in NEV sales in the Jan.-July period amid a NEV market boom.

The Shenzhen-based carmaker sold 162,220 NEVs, compared to 93,677 units in the same period last year. The strong growth is almost all driven by the pure electric passenger vehicle sector, which saw sales surging 228.9 percent year on year to 105,294 units.

-- COMMERCIAL OPERATION PLANNED FOR C919

With many test flight missions accomplished, China's homegrown C919 jumbo jet plans to get an airworthiness certificate from the country's civil aviation authorities in 2021, according to the C919's chief designer Wu Guanghui.

Wu, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and vice president of the jet's manufacturer, the Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC), said the twin-engine narrow-body trunk jetliner will benchmark against Boeing and Airbus airliners as it goes into operation.

-- AUDI REPORTS RECORD SALES

FAW-Volkswagen Audi, a major brand in the Chinese luxury car market, saw a record 368,094 vehicles delivered in China in the January-July period.

A total of 56,223 Audi vehicles were sold in China last month, up 6.1 percent from a year earlier, also hitting a monthly record for the same period.

-- WULIANGYE REPORTS ROBUST EARNINGS GROWTH

China's leading liquor producer Wuliangye Yibin Co., Ltd. reported annual 31-percent net profit growth in the first half of 2019.

The company's net profit jumped to about 9.3 billion yuan (1.3 billion U.S. dollars) from 7.1 billion yuan in the same period last year, the company said in its preliminary earnings estimate report filed to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Its revenue grew 26.5 percent year on year to 27.2 billion yuan during the Jan.-June period. Enditem