The railway loop line in China's Yangtze River Delta, an economically vibrant region in China, handled about 110,000 passenger trips in the first month of its operation.
Along the loop line, Shanghai and provincial capital cities of Nanjing, Hefei and Hangzhou are all important transport hubs connected with the country's railway trunk lines. For a full loop, the train travels for eight hours and nine minutes on a track that extends more than 1,200 km.
"This is my second time taking this train, and I'm heading to Wuxi this time. I usually travel to Wuxi twice a month, and I prefer this train. The facilities in the carriage also meet my needs very well," said a passenger surnamed Gao.
"In the past month, the loop line in the Yangtze River Delta operated for 28 days, with an average daily occupancy rate of nearly 90 percent, handling over 3,800 passenger trips on an average day," said Peng Bo, deputy chief of the marketing section of the passenger transport department of the China Railway Shanghai Group.
Dubbed a scenery line, the railway threads scenic cities such as Hangzhou, Suzhou, Wuxi and Nanjing.
"This high-speed railway connects the most economically developed region in the Yangtze River Delta with the region possessing the richest tourism resources, which can further promote the economic development in the region," said Yang Yansheng, an assistant chief engineer at the China Railway Shanghai Design Institute Group.
Railway loop line in China's Yangtze River Delta handles 110,000 passenger trips in first month of operation
A Chinese scholar and retired senior colonel has noted the divergence between the United States and Europe on solving the nearly three-year-long Russia-Ukraine crisis, saying many countries fear being marginalized while U.S. President Donald Trump seems indifferent to Europe's concerns.
Zhou Bo, a former colonel and now a research fellow at the Center for International Security and Strategy of Tsinghua University, noted that two parallel diplomatic tracks are emerging with regards to the Russia-Ukraine conflict as he gave his assessment on the situation in an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN).
Russian and U.S. delegations held talks in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Tuesday, marking the first face-to-face interactions between senior officials from the two countries since the conflict erupted in February 2022, amid reports that Trump could soon be set to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron convened a second meeting on Ukraine and European security on Wednesday, two days after hosting a "mini-summit" which brought together leaders from NATO and the European Commission, along with representatives from France, Germany, Britain, Poland, Spain, Italy, Denmark, and the Netherlands.
Zhou said an interesting scenario is now unfolding, but believes that the U.S. could be in a stronger position as it has already opened dialogue with Russia, while the Europeans may be pursuing their own agenda.
"The United States definitely has more cards to play, as they are talking to Russia. So, we should expect that this one might be more fruitful, but for the other one, actually, Europeans would insist that they have to be involved in a war that is occurring in the heart of Europe. So, therefore, they have their own agenda. And the worst of fear of Europe, including Ukraine, is to be kept out of this process," he said.
Zhou said that while Trump seems to show little interest in European sentiments regarding his stance on the conflict, the controversial remarks made by U.S. Vice President JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) did not sit well among many on the continent. However, he believes this does open a door for ties between China and Europe to be rebuilt.
"Trump doesn't give a damn about what the Europeans think about him or think about his administration, or think about the war in Ukraine. But the Europeans have a lingering hope for the United States, because the United States is [like] a big brother, right, as the head of the allies. So you can feel how the Europeans feel sad or even angry about the remarks of JD Vance. But that actually would leave an opportunity for China and Europe to improve [their] relationship," said Zhou.
Looking ahead to what could be required to make any progress in the talks to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Zhou said that he doesn't expect any fruitful results will come until Russia takes back the Kursk region, after Ukrainian forces launched a surprise cross-border attack in the region last August.
"I believe Putin, at least, has one condition that is, unless and until he takes back Kursk which is an indisputable Russian territory, he won't be really, really serious about these kind of negotiations. Otherwise, how can he face the questions coming from the Russian people: why in this war you have even lost some Russian territory? So, I believe serious negotiation might start from now, but maybe any results simply won't happen before Russia takes back the Kursk region. That's my assumption," he said.
Europe fears being left out amid divergence with US on Ukraine crisis: scholar