The Guangdong-Yunnan-Lancang-Mekong Railway Express started operation officially on Wednesday, opening up a new international freight route connecting south China's Guangdong Province, southwest China's Yunnan Province and Southeast Asian countries including Thailand and Laos.
Loaded with southeast Asian specialties including tapioca from Laos and tropical fruits from Thailand, the first train of this new railway route departed from the Wangjiayingxi Railway Station in Kunming City of Yunnan Province for Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province on Wednesday.
The route opens up a new efficient logistics channel that runs through provinces in south and southwest China and meanwhile builds connections with Southeast Asia.
"After the opening of the Guangdong-Yunnan-Lancang-Mekong Railway Express, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will be connected to the Lancang-Mekong Express of the China-Laos Railway through domestic inter-city express trains. Taking the route from Kunming to Bangkok and to Guangzhou as an example, the entire transportation time has now been cut by about two to three days," said Xu Chao, deputy general manager of the Kunming central station of China Railway Intermodal Transport of Containers Co., Ltd. Since it began operations, the China-Laos Railway has transported more than 41.6 million tonnes of goods, including 9.8 million tonnes of import and export goods. The railway handles 18 international freight trains on daily average.
China launches new freight train route connecting Greater Bay Area, southeast Asia
The former president of the European Central Bank (ECB) Jean-Claude Trichet provided insights into the ECB's recent monetary policy and the ongoing economic challenges during an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on the sidelines of the three-day Bund Summit which opened in Shanghai on Thursday.
Trichet praised the ECB's decisive actions in addressing the surge in inflation in the Eurozone that dropped from over 9 percent two years ago to 2.2 percent this August.
"First of all, I think really that the ECB did its own work and job quite well, obviously, because we had a surge of inflation in Europe and as well as in the world, at least in the U.S. and in many, many countries, which was very dramatic. The central banks and the ECB in particular did not practice benign neglect. They took seriously the problem, and after perhaps a small number of months of hesitation, they decided to cope with the situation and they increased rates 10 times, successively 10 times, which of course they had never done before. By the way, at the same time, the U.S. Fed was increasing interest rates 11 times. So in both cases, I would say the central banks have been very responsible," he said.
Despite the reduction in headline inflation, Trichet acknowledged the persistence of core inflation which dropped slightly from 2.9 percent in July to 2.8 percent in August. Looking ahead, he anticipated that the ECB might continue to adjust interest rates cautiously, aligning with market expectations.
"I would say at the present moment, when I look at the situation of the European, they are, as well as other central banks, on their way to have a soft landing. I expect them to continue to diminish rates, probably next time this month, we will see. I don't want to substitute to the governing council. They will take a good decision, I'm sure, but it's largely anticipated by markets," Trichet said.
Former ECB chief provides insights into EU monetary policy
