BEIJING / Bloomberg China’s political leaders identified aerospace as one of 10 key industries in the country’s quest to become an advanced industrialised nation. Ahead of this weekend’s annual legislative session, Western planemakers — their future competitors — are helping them toward that goal. Airbus Group SE will break ground on Wednesday on a finishing center for its wide-body A330 ...

Frankfurt / AFP German retail sales, a closely watched measure of household confidence, rose in January, suggesting consumer sentiment in Europe’s top economy remains robust, official data showed on Monday. Retailers’ sales expanded by 0.7 percent in January compared with December, the federal statistics office Destatis said in a statement. The previous month, retail sales had risen by 0.6 percent. ...

Auckland / Bloomberg A Boeing Co. 777-200LR will touch down in Auckland, New Zealand, on Wednesday after journeying 8,824 miles from Dubai, grabbing the title of world’s longest scheduled airline flight for Gulf carrier Emirates. Not to be outdone, Qatar Airways will this year offer services to Santiago in Chile, some 140 miles further again, as well as its own ...