A batch of emergency relief supplies donated by the Chinese government arrived in Vanuatu's capital Port Vila on Thursday to aid in earthquake relief efforts in the Pacific island nation following last month's deadly disaster.
Totaling 35 tons, the supplies include tents, folding beds, solar lights, food, water purifiers and medical supplies.
A handover ceremony was held at the Port Vila International Airport soon after the arrival of the special aid flight on Thursday morning, which departed from the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen the previous day.
A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck nearby Port Vila on Dec 17, killing at least 14 and injuring more than 200 people. Two Chinese nationals also lost their lives. The disaster caused widespread damage to buildings and triggered landslides, with tens of thousands of locals being affected.
Following the quake, the Chinese government has provided one million U.S. dollars in emergency assistance and sent four engineering experts to Vanuatu to support its disaster response and reconstruction efforts.
China sends emergency relief supplies to quake-hit Vanuatu
China sends emergency relief supplies to quake-hit Vanuatu
China and other member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), pledged to enhance sustainable development cooperation at a Thursday conference in Tianjin, ahead of this year's SCO summit.
As the rotating chair for this year, China is to host the SCO summit in Tianjin this autumn. The China-SCO Conference on Industrial Cooperation for Sustainable Development is one of the activities organized during a promotion event from Wednesday to Friday. It aims to promote cooperation in fields like infrastructure, energy, mining and petrifaction.
Nearly 400 guests, including government officials and enterprises from SCO member states attended the opening session.
"In 2024, China's trade volume with SCO member states, observer states and dialogue partners reached a record high of 890 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for about 14.4 percent of China's total foreign trade volume, fully demonstrating the tremendous vitality and broad prospects of trade development within the region," said Ling Ji, vice minister of commerce and deputy China international trade representative, at the conference.
As China has extensive experience in promoting sustainable development, attendees from SCO member states expressed hope to strengthen cooperation with China across various sectors, said SCO Deputy Secretary General Sohail Khan.
"China plays a very, very important, significant role in sustainable development, as I said, so we are expecting that in the sustainable development context, all member states have lot to gain and learn from China on its achievements in various areas, like agricultural industries, energy, high tech, information technology, and robot AI," he said.
By the end of 2024, China's investment stocks in SCO member states, observer states and dialogue partners have exceeded 140 billion U.S. dollars, with the total value of contracts signed by Chinese enterprises in these countries exceeding one trillion U.S. dollars and the completed turnover surpassing 680 billion U.S. dollars.
In 2024, about 19,000 China-Europe freight train ran through the SCO region, marking a year-on-year increase of 10.7 percent and significantly promoting regional connectivity and economic development.
China, SCO member states pledge deeper sustainable development cooperation
