Known for its miles-long city wall and other historic sites, Zhengding County in north China's Hebei Province has greatly improved convenience for its visitors by offering free transportation services as well as free parking at major sites.
Some visitors were surprised to learn that the open-carriage sightseeing vehicles, which connect over a dozen attractions, are free to board. "Vehicles like this are generally not free of charge. Here, it's the first time I've encountered a free one. There were quite a lot of people here, so if you drive or take a taxi, it could get congested. Taking this vehicle within the scenic area is much more convenient," said Yue Zhihui, a visitor.
The county's free parking services, offering more than 44,000 parking spaces in total, have also greatly facilitated travel for the many visitors who drive in to see Zhengding's centuries-old architectural sights.
Meanwhile, 102 public toilets in tourist areas and city restrooms are freely accessible to the public, and the county is equipped with 18 free water stations and 1,688 electric vehicle charging stations.
Historic Chinese county goes extra mile on tourist transit services
The reasons the Canadian government cited to impose additional import tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) are weak, said Canadian economist Mark Kruger on Friday.
Kruger noted that the latest tariff announcement would do no good to the Canadian people or meeting Canada's carbon emissions targets.
On Aug 26, Canada said it would impose a 100 percent tariff on imports of Chinese electric vehicles and announced a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and aluminum from China.
The Canadian government claimed that this move is to protect Canadian jobs, but the argument is far from convincing, said Kruger.
"Clearly, by putting 100 percent tariff on those electric vehicles, they're not helping Canadian consumers, because they're making those vehicles more expensive. So I think that this policy, it doesn't help either Canadian workers or Canadian consumers. Canada has its own carbon emissions targets and goals, and by maintaining a high price for electric vehicles, they're pushing the achievement of those goals farther into the future," said Kruger.
China deplores and firmly opposes the Canadian government's act, which has blatantly violated WTO rules, blindly followed certain countries and taken unilateral tariff measures against Chinese products, as a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said, describing such practices as "typical trade protectionism".
Canadian economist criticizes Canada's latest tariff against Chinese Evs
