Chinese naval hospital ship "Peace Ark" completes mission in Gabon

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy hospital ship "Peace Ark", which is on the Mission Harmony-2024, on Wednesday completed its week-long mission in Gabon, the eighth stop of its journey.

The "Peace Ark" arrived in the central African country on Sept 26 and started to provide free medical service for the Gabonese people since then.

Gabonese Minister of the Interior Hermann Immongault and the Chinese Ambassador to Gabon Zhou Ping were the first to board the hospital ship.

The mission has aroused the enthusiasm of the Gabonese people.

"As you know, when you see a sick person, for a mother, you can imagine the suffering. So I'm happy coming here and seeing a highly qualified doctor. You know that China is one of the oldest civilizations in the world and in terms of medicine, they are very advanced. So we are delighted to meet the doctor. The doctor saw my child and gave a diagnosis. As for the rest, we're very happy," said Moussounda Erica, a mother of a young patient.

The medical mission of the "Peace Ark" highlighted the high demand among the Gabonese people for medical care in the field of general medicine, particularly in ophthalmology, maxillofacial surgery and joint pain, which are more common among many elderly people.

I've felt the effectiveness of Chinese medicine. It doesn't just start today. I've seen their products and they've saved a lot of people. Compared to Western medicine, it's closer to African medicine," said Mimioghe Edouard, a Gabonese patient.

Both Chinese volunteers living in Gabon and Gabonese volunteers who speak French and Mandarin supported the nursing staff by helping to detect pathologies and provide appropriate care.

"This is a major mission that sends out a very strong signal. As here in Gabon, we have a lot of problems with medical cover and doctors, too. I think it's a very commendable action, which we appreciate, and I hope that in the future they will always come to help us," said Ovono Nkomo, a Gabonese doctor.

The "Peace Ark" set sail from a military port in Zhoushan in east China's Zhejiang Province in mid of June for the Mission Harmony-2024.

During the mission, the ship will visit 13 countries and provide medical service to local people. It will also make port calls to France and Greece.

This is the 10th Mission Harmony for the "Peace Ark" since its commissioning in 2008.

There are over 100 personnel on board the maritime hospital, featuring 17 clinical departments and 5 auxiliary diagnostic departments.

The "Peace Ark" is the first domestically designed and constructed standard ocean-going hospital ship in China.

This is the second time the hospital ship has docked at the port of Owendo, south of Gabon's capital city Libreville. After Gabon, it will sail for the western African country of Cameroon.

Chinese naval hospital ship "Peace Ark" completes mission in Gabon

The U.S. Federal Reserve's 25 basis point cut on Thursday aligns with market expectations, said Li Fuyi, associate researcher at Institute for Foreign Economic Studies under the Academy of Macroeconomic Research.

The Fed on Thursday slashed interest rates by 25 basis points amid cooling inflation and a weakening labor market, marking the second rate cut in this easing cycle.

Since earlier in the year, labor market conditions have generally eased, and the unemployment rate has moved up but remains low. Inflation has made progress toward the Committee's 2 percent objective but remains somewhat elevated, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the central bank's policy-setting body, said in a statement.

"From a policy perspective, the 50 basis point cut in September was a more precautionary move, aimed at preventing the policy from lagging too far behind developments. Moving forward, the rate cuts should slow and follow a more gradual pace, allowing enough room for policy adjustments. The Fed would lower rates by another 50 basis points by the end of the year, so the November 25 basis point cut aligns with market expectations. In terms of economic data, Fed policy mainly responds to changes in employment and inflation," Li explained the interest rate cut.

"Currently, U.S. inflation is gradually approaching the Fed's 2 percent objective. For instance, the initial core PCE figure for the third quarter was 2.2 percent. At the same time, the labor market is roughly in line with the Fed's full employment target range. In this situation, there is no urgent need for a major rate cut. A moderate rate cut also avoids overly pessimistic market interpretations of the current economic situation. This approach is an optimal solution for the Fed's delicate balance between curbing inflation and avoiding economic cooling," she said.

US Fed's 25 basis point cut aligns with market expectations: expert