Fujian on high alert as Typhoon Gaemi approaching

Fujian in east China is getting poised for the powerful Typhoon Gaemi, which is projected to hit the province's coast between Thursday afternoon and evening.

China's National Meteorological Center issued a red alert, the highest level, for Typhoon Gaemi on Wednesday and maintained it on Thursday morning. This is the first red alert for a typhoon this year.

The typhoon made landfall in eastern Taiwan's Yilan County around midnight Thursday, leaving two dead and 201 injured. It is forecast to move northwest at 10 km per hour and make its second landfall along the coast between Xiuyu and Lianjiang in Fujian, and then it is projected to continue to move further inland to the north.

Currently, Daitou, a coastal town in Fujian's Putian City, is the closest area to the approaching typhoon. As of Thursday noon, the town was just over 100 kilometers from the center of Typhoon Gaemi.

The local meteorological department reported that wind gusts in Putian have reached level 12. The winds are so intense that ocean waves crashing into the coastline can splash up to three to four meters high.

Marine aquaculture is crucial to Putian's economy. In preparation for the upcoming powerful typhoon, local government has taken steps to protect both the livelihoods and safety of fishers in the past few days. These measures include strengthening locals' offshore farming facilities, relocating small fishing boats to safer areas, and increasing patrols and surveillance in ports and bay areas to prevent people from going out to sea when the strong typhoon comes.

In addition to coastal measures, inland areas of Putian City are also preparing for the typhoon by pruning street trees and reinforcing roadside billboards to ensure public safety. Besides, the city has launched a level III emergency response for rainstorm prevention, with government staff inspecting and clearing of low-lying areas, drains, and rivers to manage potential heavy rainfall.

According to the Ministry of Water Resources on Wednesday, Typhoon Gaemi is projected to last for six days after making landfall in Fujian on Thursday and to affect seven major river basins in China.

"Typhoon Gaemi is projected to move from the southern parts of China and to impact the Pearl River, Taihu Lake, Yangtze River, Huaihe River, Yellow River, Haihe River, and Songliao River Basin, covering all seven major river basins. It’s moving slowly, which gives it time to gather strength. With the southwest monsoon adding moisture, the typhoon has a lot of water vapor which may lead to heavy rainfall. Based on the projected path of the typhoon, affected areas may see total rainfall amounts ranging from 70 to 130 millimeters," said Yin Zhijie, chief hydrology forecaster at the ministry.

Fujian on high alert as Typhoon Gaemi approaching

Chinese President Xi Jinping's keynote speech at the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit resonated with the common aspiration of more than 2.8 billion Chinese and African people and demonstrated China's firm will of moving forward hand-in-hand with Africa along the path of development, revitalization and modernization, several participants at the event have said.

In his speech on Thursday, Xi proposed that bilateral relations between China and all African countries having diplomatic ties with China be elevated to the level of strategic relations, and that the overall characterization of China-Africa relations be elevated to an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.

He also announced that the Chinese government will provide 360 billion yuan (about 50.8 billion U.S. dollars) of financial support to Africa over the next three years.

"Everyone was happy to hear those news, so everyone was clapping. So now we are going to a higher level of relations between China and Africa," said Hamidou, a counselor at the Embassy of Comoros in Beijing.

"China understands Africa's urgent desire to advance modernization. We can learn a lot from China's development," said Foreign Minister of Burkina Faso Karamoko Jean Marie Traore.

Xi also suggested 10 partnership actions for modernization that China will take together with Africa in the next three years to deepen China-Africa cooperation and spearhead modernization in the Global South.

"President Xi, through his long vision of the needs of countries and his interest in supporting development, has offered this as a real vehicle to promote exports of Africa to China, which is a huge market," said Alaa Ezz, secretary general of the Union of African Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture, and Professions (UACCIAP).

"As he told this morning, we have many projects in digitalization, in capacity building, in health centers, support for health, for infrastructure, in the framework of the Belt and [Road]. And we think that we are very satisfied with this partnership. This is a win-win partnership," said Gabriel Mbairobe, Cameroon's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Held in Beijing from Wednesday to Friday, the 2024 FOCAC summit brought together leaders from China and over 50 African countries, who highlighted the common pursuit of China and African countries in realizing modernization.

During the summit, both sides unanimously adopted two important documents -- a declaration on jointly building an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era, and an action plan of the FOCAC for the next three years.

Xi's speech at FOCAC summit resonates with people's common aspiration: participants