Lu Kang, vice minister of the International Liaison Department of the CPC Central Committee, met in Beijing on Oct 19 with former U.S. deputy assistant U.S. trade representative An Kaibin to exchange views on China‑U.S. relations and bilateral economic and trade ties.

China's National Bureau of Statistics: Employment broadly stable. Urban surveyed unemployment averaged 5.2% in Jan–Sep, unchanged YoY. September urban surveyed unemployment 5.2%, down 0.1 percentage point MoM. Local-hukou unemployment 5.2%; non-local-hukou 5.1%; non-local agricultural-hukou 5.0%. Urban surveyed unemployment in 31 major cities 5.2%, down 0.1ppt MoM. Average weekly hours for enterprise employees 48.3. End-Q3 rural migrant worker stock 192.7 mln, +0.4% YoY.

IRNA reported the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said the visit is part of ongoing Tehran–Moscow consultations to follow up on implementing bilateral agreements and to exchange views on regional and international developments.