YUETONG FASTENERS

China, Russia pledge to enhance ties

Xi, Putin announce extension of key China-Russia treaty during video talks Beijing and Moscow agreed on Monday to extend the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation to boost the high-level development of bilateral ties, and they also pledged to jointly uphold real multilateralism and safeguard global strategic security and stability. President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin announced the extension of the treaty, which was signed by the two countries 20 years ago, in a joint statement in their talks via video link. The treaty has laid a solid legal foundation for the long-term and healthy development of China-Russia relations. During the online talks, Xi said the concept of the friendship for generations established by the treaty conforms to the fundamental interests of the two countries as well as the theme of the times to promote peace and development. It is also a vivid practice of building the new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for mankind, Xi added. Today's China-Russia ties are "mature, stable and solid" and can withstand the test of changes in the international landscape, he said, adding that the two countries support each other on issues related to their respective core interests with effective strategic coordination, and have safeguarded their shared interests. They have also developed fruitful pragmatic cooperation as well as close coordination on international affairs, jointly safeguarding real multilateralism and international fairness and justice, Xi said. As the world enters a period of turbulent change and human development encounters multiple crises, Xi said close cooperation between China and Russia has provided positive energy to the international community, and has set an example for a new type of international relations. China is confident that guided by the spirit of the treaty, the two neighboring countries will remain focused on developing bilateral ties regardless of possible challenges, he said, adding that the country firmly supports Russia in taking strong measures to safeguard its long-lasting peace and security. Putin extended congratulations to Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, on the 100th anniversary of the CPC's founding on July 1, and expressed his hope that China, under the leadership of the CPC, could make new achievements in socioeconomic development and play a more important role in international affairs. The Russian president said his country is satisfied with the unprecedented high-level development of bilateral relations as well as the nations' all-around, steady bilateral cooperation. The extension of the treaty will lay an even stronger foundation for the long-term development of Russia-China relations, he added. Moscow stands ready to work with Beijing to strengthen strategic mutual trust, develop even closer strategic coordination, continue to support each other's efforts to safeguard their respective national sovereignty and territorial integrity and respect each other's system and development path of their own choice, Putin said. Both countries emphasized the need to jointly uphold the international system with the United Nations at the core as well as the international order underpinned by international law, according to a news release issued after the talks. They also pledged to oppose external interference in domestic affairs under the guise of "democracy" and "human rights", as well as unilateral sanctions. The two countries agreed to jointly promote peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom, intensify solidarity and coordination to cope with common challenges, and advance the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. They stressed jointly opposing stigmatizing and politicizing the COVID-19 pandemic and virus origin tracing, and pledged to strengthen vaccine cooperation, maintain close high-level exchanges, expand bilateral trade and advance the synergy of the Belt and Road Initiative with the Eurasian Economic Union. The two countries also vowed to work together to oppose politicizing sports, and Moscow supports Beijing in hosting successful Winter Olympic Games in 2022. While underlining the need to comprehensively plan and promote the development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, they also expressed concerns over the security situation in Afghanistan caused by the United States' speedy withdrawal of its troops from the country, and stressed the need to jointly uphold regional peace, security and stability.

2021-06-29

Key Shenzhen foreign trade port resumes operations

The resumption of normal operations at Yantian Port in Shenzhen, southern China's Guangdong province, will help stabilize electronics prices and address supply shortages of commercial goods in many parts of the world, government officials and experts said on Thursday. They made the remarks after the world's fourth-busiest container port resumed operations on Thursday, following a monthlong cut in productivity caused by a COVID-19 outbreak. Coronavirus cases among dockworkers at Yantian Port have caused serious disruptions to the port since late May. Shipping companies, including Maersk, COSCO Shipping Lines and CMA CGM Group, have all warned customers that it would take several weeks to clear up the immense container backlog in the region that has put strains on global supply chains over the past four weeks. The impact of this congestion on China's overall foreign trade is limited and controllable, said Gao Feng, a Ministry of Commerce spokesman, adding that the Guangdong provincial government has already taken effective measures to reduce shipping backlogs at its ports. "For the next step, we will continue to strengthen the collaboration between central government branches and local governments to create better conditions for foreign trade and international logistics services," he said. Yantian Port resuming normal operations will help restore the global supply of electronic consumer goods, electrical machinery, household appliances, medical equipment, auto parts and furniture, much of which is manufactured in China's Pearl River Delta region, said Zhao Ying, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Industrial Economics in Beijing. As one of China's major container shipping ports, Yantian Port serves more than one-third of Guangdong's foreign trade and one-fourth of the country's trade with the United States, according to the district government of Yantian, Shenzhen. "Currently, there are 23 ships conducting loading operations at the port," said Lawrence Shum, managing director of Hutchison Ports Yantian, the operator of Yantian Port. The number of workers at the port has soared from 360, after the outbreak occurred in late May, to the current 4,462, and all of the berths at its central and western areas where confirmed COVID-19 cases were discovered have resumed operations, with their total throughput reaching 33,000 twenty-foot equivalent units. "Many shipping companies are confident in our efforts to resume operations in a steady manner and have planned and prepared to berth their ships at the port again," Shum added. Yuan Huyong, deputy head of the Yantian Port command center for COVID-19 control and prevention, said the government will continue to impose strict COVID-19 prevention and control measures on high-risk personnel working at the port to ensure its safe and efficient operation. The terminal of Yantian Port serves 100 vessels per week. Its container throughput reached 13.35 million containers in 2020, up 2.13 percent year-on-year, accounting for 50.28 percent of the container throughput of Shenzhen's port areas, according to the Yantian Maritime Safety Administration. "With the easing of the pandemic in Europe and the US and the continuous introduction of consumption stimulus plans, global demand has picked up, and the demand for shipping logistics has gradually increased. However, the recovery cycle of shipping capacity has not been realized as quickly," said Wang Guowen, director of the Center for Logistics and Supply Chain Management at the China Development Institute, a think tank based in Shenzhen. "Due to Asia-wide COVID-19 flareups, we have seen a return of manufacturing to China for products normally produced elsewhere to take advantage of China's relatively stable manufacturing base," said Ditlev Blicher, managing director of Maersk Asia Pacific, a part of A.P. Moller-Maersk, the Danish shipping and logistics giant.

2021-06-28

US sanctions on Chinese entities damage global trade

US sanctions on five Chinese entities for so-called involvement in forced labor in Xinjiang are serious damage to the global economic and trade order, said Gao Feng, spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce, at a news briefing on Thursday. The "forced labor" claim in Xinjiang is completely contrary to the facts, Gao said, adding that the US is once again using state power to engage in protectionism and bullying in the name of so-called "human rights". This is a serious threat to the security of the global industrial chain and supply chain, the spokesperson said. The US side should immediately correct its wrong practices, Gao said, adding that China will take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and institutions.

2021-06-25