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Timor-Leste's 2008 earthquake donation to China symbol of enduring friendship: president

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      Timor-Leste's 2008 earthquake donation to China symbol of enduring friendship: president

      2024-08-03 17:04 Last Updated At:18:07

      Timor-Leste's donation of 500, 000 U.S. dollars to aid victims of the devastating 2008 Wenchuan earthquake is a symbol of enduring friendship and mutual respect between the two countries, said the country's president Jose Ramos-Horta in an interview on Tuesday.

      On May 12, 2008, a powerful earthquake jolted Sichuan Province in southwest China, leading to the deaths of more than 69,000 people. Following the disaster, Timor-Leste donated 500,000 U.S. dollars to quake-hit Sichuan, marking its first donation to another country. The country also mourned the victims of the earthquake under the leadership of Ramos-Horta.

      In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) during his recent trip to China, Ramos-Horta said the donation was a tangible expression of the longstanding friendship between the two sides.

      "Even though China is one million times bigger and richer than Timor-Leste, for us, it was a gesture of a friend. We are poor, but we are going to contribute to help our Chinese friends. It is our gesture of friendship, of recognition of China," said Ramos-Horta.

      At the invitation of President Xi Jinping, Timor-Leste's president paid a state visit to China from July 28 to 31. This is Ramos-Horta's first visit to China after he took office in 2022 and the first state visit by a Timor-Leste president to China since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 2002.

      Timor-Leste's 2008 earthquake donation to China symbol of enduring friendship: president

      Timor-Leste's 2008 earthquake donation to China symbol of enduring friendship: president

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      CATL's German battery plant powers up local green transition

      2025-02-18 22:36 Last Updated At:23:07

      ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠A new plant set up by China's leading battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co (CATL) in Germany to produce batteries for electric vehicles has brought significant economic and environmental benefits to the country and beyond. 

      Germany has long been a pivotal force in the global car industry, renowned as the birthplace of the automobile. With the drive towards greener mobility, it wants more manufacturers to build factories and advance domestic electric vehicle production.

      CATL, headquartered in the city of Ningde, east China's Fujian Province, started to build its first overseas base in 2018 in the German state of Thüringen.

      "The battery making business is something you do very close with your customers. It's an eye to eye thing. And its important to have the short supply chains in the long term. We have had our first cooperation here in Germany starting in 2012. And then we decided to come here and start producing batteries in Germany and Europe in 2018," said Caspar Spinnen, public relations manager for CATL Germany.

      This localized production offers multiple advantages. With batteries representing around 40 percent of an electric vehicle's price, local manufacturing reduces expenses and minimizes transport emissions. Importantly, it also creates jobs and fosters knowledge transfer.

      "We are bringing a lot of new know-how here into the region. Battery manufacturing is still quite a new subject in Europe and that also comes with some added benefits.  We are also helping train people on the ground for future generations of battery production here on site," Spinnen said. 

      This investment aligns with the EU's ambitious climate goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030.

      But with not enough European battery producers to satisfy demand, Germany and other EU countries appear open to Chinese investment.

      The plant aims to build hundreds of thousands of batteries for electric vehicles across the continent and beyond, to power the European Union's growing EV industry. 

      CATL's German battery plant powers up local green transition

      CATL's German battery plant powers up local green transition

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