5th China-Central Asia Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in southwest China

China

5th China-Central Asia Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in southwest China

2024-12-01 23:26 Last Updated At：12-02 16:17

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday chaired the 5th China-Central Asia Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Murat Nurtleu, Kyrgyzstan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Kulubaev Zheenbek Moldokanovich, Tajikistan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sirojiddin Muhriddin, Turkmenistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov, and Uzbekistan's Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov attended the meeting.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, noted that since the establishment of the China-Central Asia mechanism four years ago, the six countries have worked together to foster its growth, demonstrating strong vitality and dynamism.

Last May, the first China-Central Asia Summit was successfully held in China's Xi'an, officially elevating the mechanism to the head-of-state level and marking a new chapter in China-Central Asia relations, he said.

Wang emphasized China's commitment to advancing comprehensive and sustainable cooperation with Central Asian countries and outlined five key areas of consensus reached by the six foreign ministers during the meeting.

First, the six countries agree to adhere to the guidance of their heads of state and to strengthen and enhance the China-Central Asia mechanism. Second, they agree to pursue the goal of modernization and to deepen all-round cooperation. Third, they commit to sharing weal and woe and to upholding regional peace and stability. Fourth, they emphasize everlasting friendship through generations. Fifth, they pledge to uphold multilateralism.

After the meeting, the six foreign ministers attended the departure ceremony for the Tianfu Cross-border Truck service from Chengdu to Central Asia.

Almost all expressway service areas equipped with NEV charging facilities in China

2025-01-10 02:19 Last Updated At：04:17

Almost all the service areas along the expressways in China have been equipped with charging facilities for new energy vehicles (NEVs), according to the Ministry of Transport.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Gao Bo, deputy director general of the ministry's Transport Service Department, said that inadequate charging piles have emerged as a challenge brought by the rapid growth of NEVs, while China is actively addressing the challenge.

The ministry, along with relevant departments, is continuously optimizing and enhancing charging services to better ensure convenient and green travel for the public, he said.

By the end of November 2024, a total of 33,100 charging piles and 49,300 charging parking spaces had been built at expressway service areas across the country, with an increase of 12,100 charging piles and 16,600 charging parking spaces compared to the end of 2023.

The proportion of expressway service areas with charging facilities has risen from 85 percent at the end of 2023 to 97 percent, achieving nearly full coverage except for some high-altitude service areas.

"Highway service areas nationwide widely use 120kW or higher fast-charging facilities. In the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Guangdong, charging stations with 600-800kW ultra-fast chargers have been built," said Gao.

In response to service areas with tight charging services, mobile charging units have been added to provide flexible charging services.

The ministry is also strengthening the sharing and integration of charging resources with urban areas, guiding vehicles at busy service areas to nearby expressway entrance and exit charging zones or idle nearby service areas, alleviating congestion and reducing waiting time.